Midori no Mori
by Hakudoushi kawaii ne
Summary: Life in Konoha is once again back to normal... Or is it? Love is a powerful weapon but is it enough when darkness threatens to fall? War is upon us. Can love survive when their hearts pull them in different directions? Only fate can tell. NaruSasu
1. The Beginning

Sequel to CaR. I guess it can be read as a 'stand alone' although you may miss some references to the other story. Warnings: _Unbetaed! and OOC! _Disclaimer:_ I don't own Naruto._

_"_Speech_", dreams, _'thoughts'

_But enough of that_, let me now proudly introduce to you all, Midori no Mori;

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**PART ONE** - _The beginning._

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Darkness lay low as light from the moon and stars were hidden behind a thick layer of clouds. There was little sound but the bustling wind rustling the leaves which had fallen from the trees thick branches. It was fall and the summer warmth was long gone.

The shadow of a man coming closer suddenly appeared in the distance. Another man's voice broke through the nature's own silence.

"Geika, Geika! Is it time yet, is it time yet?!"

Rustling sounds came from a bush nearby and a head suddenly poked out. "Akuun, shut up! You'll blow our cover!" Purple eyes stared cautiously ahead as if looking for any sort of disturbance. "You are such an idiot! I swear I don't know why Master chose you to be in our group. You're useless."

"Akuma-chan you're so mean!"

"Both of you be quiet!" The third man now closer, sneered. He gestured with his hand that they were leaving. As light reflected on glass shards, the man smirked. "It is time…"

The two known as Akuun and Akuma came out from their hiding and together the trio disappeared through the trees, leaving behind no trace of evidence but the flutter of leaves.

**Xx**

In the small town of Konoha, Naruto hungrily inhaled the frisk morning air. He stretched his arms to rid them from tension and then started on his way to the Hokage tower where he was going to get his first mission in a long time. It felt good, he decided, he had missed it; the freedom that came with the missions, and the excitement.

As he walked through the city, nothing could ruin his good mood. He smiled at the frowning towns people and to his surprise some actually returned it. The bad talking had not stopped but after his travel it had became less painful. The town's people based their opinion about him on false facts. It was up to him to change that.

Once outside the Hokage's doors, he waved at Shizune and then entered the room. At first he was surprised at finding the old hag awake, as she usually was asleep when he came to see her, but upon looking around the room realized quite soon the reason to why. All he could think was; 'fuck'

Standing in front of the desk was none other but _the_ Uchiha Sasuke. The man he had carefully avoided the last week, ever since their very drunken mistake.

With a bow, he greeted the woman and then turned to greet his friend. Tsunade welcomed him with a smile however Sasuke only stared at him before turning his attention back to the hag. It annoyed him that the other would not even acknowledge him with a simple 'hi'. Even though he knew why the other acted the way he did; he was angry at him for kissing him. He was sure of it. But in his defense, Naruto knew for a fact, Sasuke had not tried to stop him and they had both been drunk. With that amount of alcohol in his blood, he could have even kissed a girl. And he was gay! That if anything said how drunk he was. Another factor to why he had kissed the other was that he harbored feelings for the brunet. It had come to him as a shock when he had realized after only a couple of days away from the brunet his true feelings; he was attracted to his best friend.

However, he could not let Sasuke know. He feared his feelings would be the end of their friendship and the thought of losing his best friend was unthinkable. It was impossible. He would rather let the other stay in the unknown and still be friends.

"Earth to Naruto." Tsunade's voice broke his train of thought and immediately his attention was fully directed on her. "Listen to me when I'm talking. It's a matter of respect. If you ever want to be Hokage you better start showing me some!"

Naruto cringed as Tsunade sounded genuinely angry and apologized with his head hung low. "Please continue Hokage-sama." He hoped his polite tone would ease her anger.

Tsunade hmphed disapprovingly but waved him further inside the room. "Also, don't stand by the door when I'm talking to you brat. Come closer. " She paused as she waited and once he was standing in front of her desk, beside Sasuke, she continued. "Your mission is to escort lady Akimayashi back to her home village in river country. You will leave immediately. Any questions?"

Naruto frowned as he questioned his own hearing. The hag was giving them an escort mission. Something meant for Genins. He opened his mouth to voice his question when Sasuke beat him to it, thus leaving him looking more like a fish as he changed his gaze over at the brunet. "Hokage, what rank is this?"

"C."

Sasuke looked confused. "If Hokage-sama doesn't mind me saying, aren't we more suitable for another mission?"

"You work well as a team and she requested strong ninjas. Well, she paid a lot too. We are low on missions at the moment. Either you take it or leave."

"You greedy old hag." Mumbled Naruto but then quickly said, "We'll take it baa-chan." Whatever the rank was, Naruto felt happy to leave the village. In the corner of his vision he could see Sasuke sending him a glare but pretended he was clueless to it.

Tsunade smiled satisfyingly then she cried out Shizune's name. Not many seconds later Shizune stood in the door and asked what it was the woman needed. "Tell Akimayashi-san she can come in now. Thank you." Curtly, Shizune nodded and then left with a bow.

They waited in silence until the doors were opened once again however this time a foreign girl made her appearance. She walked with defined feet and her lips settled in a thin line. Naruto inspected her from head to toe as she stopped beside him. She was a pretty girl but the frown on her face and the bitchy aura she radiated made him think twice about her attitude. When the girl opened her mouth, he knew he had been right. "Are we going yet?! I didn't pay to wait, I want to go home. Are we going?"

Naruto sweatdropped as she then turned to him and her frown immediately turned into a shy smirk. "Hello, sexy." He could almost hear the purr in her voice.

Unwillingly, he greeted her back.

**xX**

After a long day, of constant chatting – this time not by him which made him think twice about his own talking problem – he found himself – with evident sarcasm – enjoying a head ache and his good mood long gone. Their mission had proved not worth taking, even though he had longed for a moment outside the village's walls. The cause for his change of moods was Akimayashi-san, also referred to as icky-san, her first name apparently being Vicky.

However, she was finally gone now, as they had dropped her off at her family's home and thereby completed their mission. He no longer had to feign politeness and he could finally deal with his grouchy partner. Sasuke had said nothing during their mission, not a word except for some grunts which could not really be counted as words.

Since their start in Konoha, the brunet had taken the lead, leaving Naruto to have covered the rear and kept their target company but now when they had finished their mission, he was ready to interrogate him.

The blond quickened his speed until he was in step with the other and spoke. "Ne Sasuke, we've been walking nonstop for two days now. I'm thinking maybe we should take in on an inn? Get some much needed rest, ya know."

"Hn, I don't need to rest. If we continue we'll be back in Konoha tomorrow morning." Sasuke replied dismissively.

Naruto frowned. "Okay, maybe _you_ don't want to rest but I want to." He pressed. "Why do we have to hurry home?"

Sasuke turned with a glare to look at the blond. "Because."

"Because is not a reason."

"Hn."

Naruto growled at the brunet's lack of reasoning. "I say we take in on an inn and as team leader, we will." He yanked at the brunet's arm and started to drag him in the right direction where he knew a town lay. They were only a few miles north of a small town in fire country.

Sasuke protested and tried to yank back his arm from the blond's strong hold but to no avail, Naruto held on with brute strength. "Let go, dobe." He hissed. "Else I'll chidori your hand till it falls off and for the record, you are not team leader."

Naruto yelped and immediately let go. "Geesh, no need get your panties in a twist, Sasuke." Blocking a flying fist, Naruto grinned. "And for your record, I _am_ team leader."

"Says who?" Sasuke glowered, yet he continued walking the way Naruto was leading them.

"I do." Naruto singsonged cheerily and quickened their pace.

Sasuke huffed but chose not to comment any further. He did not want to spend time together with the blond more than necessary. It hurt every time he looked at the blond, all because of that damn drunken kiss. Yet at the same time all he craved was the other's presence. Mentally he damned himself at having feelings at all. He was supposed to feel nothing. He was an avenger. _"You're not an Avenger. You are only a failure of an Avenger. You have avenged nothing."_ Reminded his conscience and the thought alone, made him angry. He was training, he was getting stronger. _"Not fast enough." _That same voice told him.

Balling his hands in suppressed anger, Sasuke stared ahead of him determined. He would avenge his clan! He just needed some more time. 'A bit more time…'

**Xx**

"Tell me again why we have to share rooms?" Sasuke stared at the small room with two beds beside each other with contempt. He never even wanted to stay at the inn, afraid of what he would do if he spent too much time with the blond, and now he had to stay at one _and share_ rooms with him. God hated him, though the reason to why was still unclear, but he knew he hated him.

"Because all other rooms were occupied, yet we were lucky enough to get two separate beds. Maybe it's not up to your usual standard _princess_, but I can't very well do anything about it now can I? How should I know they have a huge carnival this week?" Naruto took his backpack off his shoulders and put it on the bed closest to him. It was nice to finally get some rest, as much as he loved being a ninja, walking was too troublesome at times. 'Oh god, I just sounded like Shikamaru.'

Sasuke smacked the blond's head as he passed him, "Don't ever call me that word again, dobe." and then followed the blond's lead and took off his own backpack and put it on the bed as he started taking off his clothes. Maybe getting a room was better than he had thought from the start, his shoulders were aching and his feet itched from too much walking.

Naruto stared at Sasuke's turned back as he started to undress. Unconsciously, he licked his lips as Sasuke pulled off his shirt. "What are you staring at, idiot." Hearing the other's words made him realize he had been staring and with a light blush he forced himself to look away. "I'm not staring, bastard." He started discarding his own clothes.

Sasuke grinned as he noticed the other quickly looking away, maybe all hope was not lost yet. Stripping himself of the rest of his clothes until he was left in only boxers, Sasuke climbed under the bed sheets. It was comfortable and warm. Turning on his side so that his back faced his partner, Sasuke quickly dozed off with a smile on his lips.

Naruto shot Sasuke a last glance before turning off the lights. Huffing, he assumed the other was still angry at him for forcing him to stay at an inn, which he found ridicules.

_The first thing he noticed was he was standing in a dark forest. It was quiet he__ later mused, not even the sound from rustling leaves was heard, which was highly unusual as he saw the trees move as if winds were blowing._

_Feeling a shiver travel along his spine, Sasuke stared cautiously at his surroundings. __'How did I get here?' He wondered as he could not remember anything. The sudden snap from a twig made him crouch into a guarding stance and stare at the source of where the sound had come from._

_He did not wait long until a dark form made itself known and soon a face was visible. "Do you know why you are here?"__ The voice was calm and soothing. It made Sasuke want to relax however the face of the man in front of him made him do the exact opposite. He felt his shoulders go tense as his eyes went wide by fear, anger, and sadness. "Itachi…" He growled._

_Itachi smirked. "Otouto."_

_Though the other made no move of attacking, Sasuke found himself running forward and starting to collect chakra in his hand, however soon noticed his hand held no chidori. Stopping to stare at his hand he then glared hard at the other. "What have you done? Is this a genjutsu?"_

_Itachi chuckled and shook his head no. "You brought me here, otouto. You're dreaming."_

_Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "The only dream I have when it comes to you is my chidori through your heart and you dead."_

"_Yet, I'm standing here, alive and talking."_

"_I'll kill you!" __With inhuman speed Sasuke lunged forward, aiming a punch to his brother's head but was quickly blocked. His one leg swept out forcefully in a try at landing a kick in the other's side however his ankle was quickly caught by a pale hand. He used the other's hold to his foot to try to spin in the air and land a kick to his head but was thrown back and landed gracefully a few meters away. Leaping back he crouched down and swept his foot at the other's feet, Itachi easily avoided the attack by jumping back and kicking Sasuke in the abdomen._

_Feeling his breath kicked out of him, Sasuke grasped his stomach as he tried to gain back the control of his breathing. "You're weak, otouto. How are you ever going to kill me if you can't even beat me in your own dreams?"_

_Feeling his hatred grow, Sasuke lurched up. Using his left foot to aim a kick at Itachi's face, he used his other__ foot to jump up in the air and do a backflip. Grabbing shurikens from their holster he threw them and lurched forward once again, punching the other hard in the stomach. Itachi went flying back but was quickly up on his feet, smirking. "Well done, otouto. Only it takes more to kill me_._"_

_Sasuke gr__it his teeth. He knew the other was right, he was weak. He had made a promise to avenge his clan yet he lived in a village where he was getting nowhere, hidden behind lies others told him. "I will grow stronger! I will kill you!"_

_Itachi leant his head to the side, staring with prying eyes. "Are you really?" And in the next second he was gone._

_Sasuke searched frantically his surroundings and was taken by surprise as a sudden burning pain settled inside his chest. "I was right when I said you weren't worth killing."_

_Sasuke's knees buckled under his weight and he fell to the ground, blood red eyes staring at him with confined laughter_.

"Sasuke…"

"Sasuke!"

**/END PART ONE** _the beginning_

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_Reviews inspire faster updates._


	2. Confession and A Propitious Proposal

"**Xx**" - means bigger time jump.

"**x**" - means smaller time jump.

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**Part Two** – _Confession and A Propitious Proposal_

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"Sasuke wake up! You're dreaming!" Naruto desperately called as he shook Sasuke's trembling body. The other had woken him up by gasps and incoherent mumbles. Feeling the brunet finally stir in his hands, Naruto leaned back and released his hold around lithe arms.

Sasuke emitted a groan and scrunched up his eyes before opening them. "Naruto?" He questioned as he saw the blond towering over him. "What are you doing?"

"You were tossing in your sleep and mumbling stuff. Thought you looked uncomfortable so I woke you up." Upon seeing everything was fine with Sasuke, Naruto went back to his side of the room. "It's morning. Since we're both up I thought we could get something to eat and then we'd be on our way?"

Sasuke nodded and carefully sat up. With his dream fresh in mind he felt his hands tremble. 'I couldn't win…' Looking down at his trembling hands he felt tears of irritation stir in his eyes. 'I'm so weak…'

"Something wrong, Sasuke?" Asked Naruto as he noticed the change in his friend. The brunet had acted weird during their whole mission and he had assumed it was because of their kiss, but perhaps there was more to it? He searched black eyes but Sasuke would not look at him.

"Nothing of your concern, dobe." It came out harsher than he had meant, but he was too angry with himself than to bother be nice. A part of him also blamed Naruto for his weak state, since it was partly his fault Sasuke even had come back from Sound. If he hadn't maybe he would have been stronger now?

Naruto felt himself grow angry. Though he felt attracted to the brunet and admitted hands down he had feelings for him, there were times when he wanted to beat the crap out of his best friend. Sasuke's stubbornness to never share his feelings - no matter how gay it may sound - was something that bugged him, a lot. He took a towel from the closet and headed to the shower rooms. "Che, whatever."

Sasuke watched Naruto's back as he walked outside the door from their room. He closed his eyes and let out an aggravated sigh. Why was life so hard?

Did he want Naruto? Yes. Did he want to avenge his clan? Yes. Did Konoha make him stronger? No. Did he want to leave Naruto for said power and vengeance? He was unsure, yet a part of him told him he had to, there was no other choice. He had to get stronger.

He emitted another sigh and covered his eyes with his hands. 'I'm sorry Naruto… It seems I can't keep my promise.' It was barley a defeated whisper, spoken to no one but himself.

Shortly after Naruto got back to the room, they checked out of their room and went to grab something to eat before continuing back home. They found a nice ramen stand – Naruto had insisted – and sat down eating in a tense silence.

Sasuke was too busy dealing with his constantly spinning emotions and thoughts, while Naruto was trying to figure out the best way of approaching Sasuke without pissing him off.

"Ne, Sasuke." Sasuke looked up from his bowl of noodles while anxiously fidgeting with the chopsticks in his hand. "Mm?"

"I've been meaning to ask you this whole time, but you've been rather difficult to confront…" Naruto stirred his noodles absently to keep Sasuke from noticing his trembling hands. "Un, have I done something to upset you?"

Sasuke's appearance did not change much as he asked, "Hn, why?"

"Well, during our whole mission you've pretty much ignored me the whole time or when I finally get your attention you're always angry."

"Hn. I've had a lot on my mind."

"So, it's not because… y-you know we kissed before? I mean like we were both drunk. I didn't know what I was doing. I swear! My judgment was clouded by the alcohol. I could've pretty much kissed a wall, I was that drunk!"

Sasuke felt anger flare up as Naruto rambled on. Him talking about their kiss was not exactly helping his sea of weird emotions and that he compared Sasuke to a wall made him lose the little control he had left. He banged his fist on the table, making other customers look at them awkwardly. However he could not care less at the moment, Naruto should have just kept his mouth shut. "Shut up Naruto! I don't care about that. You are so fucking stupid. Can't you take a fucking moment and just realize maybe I fucking liked it." Sasuke froze as he realized what he had just said. Flushing red Sasuke sat in shock.

Naruto stared at him bewildered, his eyes slightly widened. Mentally slapping himself, Sasuke shot up from his seat and walked out the restaurant. 'Fuck. Why the fuck did I have to open my mouth! It's all Naruto's fault. If he hadn't started talking I wouldn't have said that. Oh god.'

Naruto sprinted up from his seat and after Sasuke. Coming in step with him outside the restaurant, Naruto grabbed a hold of the brunet's arm and pulled him to a stop. "Sasuke!" He said slightly out of breath, his heart beating heavily.

Sasuke pulled out of the blond's grip as if burnt by his mere touch. He inhaled deeply and fixed the blond with a glare. "What? Do you want to talk about it? Do you want to laugh at me? Go ahead I couldn't care less. I like you ha ha, joke's on me. I fucking love my best friend who is male and now he hates should I even care?"

Naruto frowned at the Uchiha's sudden outburst, but upon hearing Sasuke say 'love' his frown eased and a gentle smile took its place. "Sasuke…"

"You know it's not like I asked for this. Trust me if I could I'd definitely not love _you. _"

"Sasuke!" He tried again and this time Sasuke went quiet, silently waiting for Naruto to start bashing him. "Do you mean that?"

"Of course I do… " Sasuke said with deep sarcasm then looked away to hide the slight flush covering his cheeks.

Naruto stepped closer to the brunet and took hold of his hand. Upon feeling the blond's touch Sasuke turned back and looked down perplexed at the hand holding on to his. "Wha-" he began but was cut off by Naruto. "If you're serious, then I'm serious too." Naruto spoke below a whisper.

Sasuke stared at the tanned hand that radiated heat and then up at the blond. Had Naruto just told him he liked him too? Sasuke was confused more than ever. "What… What do you mean dobe?"

"I kind of… l-like you too, you know." Naruto nervously scratched the back of his head.

Sasuke swallowed back the lump that had formed in his throat as he changed his gaze back to their hands. "You're not just pulling a prank on me.. Because I-"

Naruto cut him off before he had the chance to finish. "No."

"Then…" Sasuke started, leaving his sentence hanging in the air. Where would they go from there? Would they become an item? He had just decided to leave Konoha again. They couldn't be together if he was leaving, could they?

His thoughts were broken as he felt Naruto shifting closer and hot air caress his lips. His eyes searched blue, silently asking what the other was doing. He received no other answer but Naruto tilting down and capturing his lips in a soft kiss. It did not last long but it was enough for Sasuke.

Suddenly he was very conscious of the people around them. Some were blatantly staring at them, whilst others were stealing quick glances. Taking a step back, Sasuke blushed and wiped at his lips with his arm. "I…" Then he swiftly turned his back to Naruto and stalked away, too embarrassed to say anything else.

Naruto frowned confused but after a moment ran after him.

**Xx**

They jumped through the trees in a comfortable speed. They would soon be back in Konoha therefore they felt they didn't have to hurry. Naruto had tried to talk to Sasuke, but the brunet had seemed to close himself off as he so usually do. It annoyed him; only a few hours ago they had confessed they had feelings for each other, he wanted to know what that meant. Would they become a couple now? Did his feelings matter to Sasuke? He did not know, and that annoyed him. He had questions he wanted - no, needed - answers to.

"Did you notice that?" Sasuke's voice suddenly broke through his train of thought. Confused he looked at Sasuke. "Notice what?" But just as he had uttered the question he noticed something in the shadow move close to him. There was something beside him, a ninja he realized as he detected a chakra signature.

"There are 4 people after us, if not more. One is on your left and another is on my right, the other two are behind us."

"Should we drag them out?" He questioned as he slowed down his pace. Sasuke nodded. "Yeah."

They did not wait long until a ninja jumped out from the trees and attacked Naruto. They came to a halt as Naruto quickly dodged the attack. "Who are you?" He called, narrowing his eyes.

The ninja, he recognized it being from sound as his headband wore a note, grinned but did not answer. Instead he formed hand seals and a red slime came from his mouth. Doing a back flip Naruto effectively avoided being hit. Looking at where it landed, he saw part of a tree trunk melting away. 'It's acidic.' He mused. 'Great.'

In the corner of his eyes, Naruto saw Sasuke fighting two other ninjas. 'Where the fuck did they come from?' He silently questioned as he threw shurikens at his attacker. The other deflected them with a kunai as he charged for attack.

He deflected a well aimed kick and landed a well placed blow to the enemy ninja's abdomen. The other flew back but was quickly up on his feet again, charging with shurikens. "Che, if you want to take me down you'll have to do better than that." Naruto muttered, a smirk playing on his lips. Feeling the familiar sensation from chakra collecting in his hand he charged forward.

**x**

"Tell me why you're here!" He had his hand around the sound ninja's neck. He had to know why they had attacked. If they attacked that would mean Orochimaru was moving again, and what if he was after Sasuke? 'I won't allow it.' Subconsciously he tightened his grip around the other's neck.

The ninja gasped for air. "What does it matter? "

Growling Naruto narrowed his eyes and pointed at the leftovers of the ninja's partner. "Otherwise you'll end up like him, torn in two by rasengan."

The ninja started laughing. "He was weak."

"And you're not?" Naruto felt frustrated. He did not have the time to chat with the enemy. Somewhere in his fight with the sound ninjas, Sasuke had disappeared. He knew that the brunet could take care of himself, he was just worried. A nagging feeling told him something bad was happening.

Tightening his grip even more, he questioned again. "Tell me?"

The ninja shook his head.

"Suit yourself." He took hold of the other's one hand, and started playing with a finger. "You know each time you disobey; I'll snap one finger. When I'm out of those, I'll just move on to your arms and legs. Okay?" With a loud crack, he snapped the guy's middle finger.

The ninja roared in pain and squirmed in his hold. "Tell me?" Naruto repeated but the nin shook his head 'no' again.

Crack. Another finger faced off in a weird angle and the ninja's eyes widened in pain as another pain filled cry escaped him. It continued like that until there were only two fingers left. Naruto repeated the same question over again; "Tell me?" and this time the ninja nodded. "Okay." He emitted in defeat.

"Orochimaru sent us." Naruto frowned, he already knew that. "Tell me something I don't already know scum." He pressed.

"He's going to give Sasuke a proposal…"

"What kind of a proposal?" Naruto felt anxiety settle in his abdomen. When it came to Sasuke, the blond was always worried. Sasuke had come back to him, to Konoha, before but he knew thoughts of revenge still haunted the other's mind. If Orochimaru gave him another offer, would Sasuke really say no?

"I- I can't. I don't know…"

As uncontrolled rage washed over him he snapped the twitching wrist in his hand and threw the squirming body to the ground. "Don't lie."

"I swear!" The ninja begged and tried to crawl away but Naruto would not have any of that. He pressed one of his feet deep into the ninja's leg, locking him to the spot on the ground.

"**Finish him off." **He heard the Kyuubi growl excitedly from deep inside his cage. Naruto took a kunai from his weapon pouch and stared at the weak body in front of him. He could not let Sasuke leave again. He would not let Sasuke leave his grasp when he was so close to having him. 'I won't.'

He pierced the ninja in the heart and watched the body fall limp as light disappeared from hazel eyes. Turning, he walked away from the battle ground leaving behind two lifeless bodies.

**x**

Sasuke stared at the two bodies lying cold on the ground. Sweat made his bangs cling to his face and his breath was slightly uneven. They had been tough. A slash on his back and minor cuts which scattered his body proved that much but what else to expect from Orochimaru's minions. The snake sannin was good when it came to choosing his followers.

The attack had separated him from Naruto. Thinking he better go find him he started pulling out used shurikens from a tree trunk nearby. However a sudden rustle in the bushes made him quickly turn. "Whoever you are, come out." He cautiously called.

"Kukukukuku, you did well I see." It did not take long until a dark shadow made its way out from its hide out.

"Orochimaru…" Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"Sasuke-kun." The sannin licked his lips, eyes glowing amused.

"Name why I shouldn't kill you on the spot." Sasuke pulled out two kunai, holding them one in each hand.

Orochimaru leered in satisfaction as he held his two hands in surrender. "No need for violence just yet Sasuke-kun, you have to hear me out first."

Sasuke sneered. "Then I'd suggest you better start talking before I rip you apart."

"Are you happy pretending you are content with life Sasuke-kun? Do you feel good knowing you're too weak to avenge your clan, a clan you have betrayed by staying in that village you call home?"

Sasuke frowned, confused by the man's words. "Are you satisfied living in a village that so coldly betrayed your clan and judged it to its own doom?" Golden eyes peered at him so intently, as if they could see right through him, it made him squirm unconsciously.

"W- What are you talking about?" He questioned, his voice slightly failing him.

"Why Sasuke-kun, I'm talking about the Uchiha massacre of course. About facts sealed away deep inside the village, only for the old ones to know. No wait, _someone _stole them not too long ago... They were _very_ interesting to read... If you get my drift." Orochimaru chuckled.

Scowling, Sasuke bit back in anger. "I already know about what happened that day. I saw it with my own two eyes. Itachi murdered our clan, he murdered our parents! He only let me live because I wasn't worth enough to kill." His fists, balled together, were trembling from frustration and his jaw clenched.

"Sasuke-kun you disappoint me, you for one should know you can't always trust what's before your eyes."

Sasuke desperately shook his head no. The snake was lying. He had to. "You mean he was using the tsukuyomi jutsu? I don't believe you. He killed our clan! Itachi is nothing but a killer!" Sasuke sneered in hatred. He could not – would not – accept there was a possibility Itachi was good deep down. He had spent years loathing him to the very core of his body. He had sworn revenge upon that man and to have held that much hatred and self loathing for nothing? It was ridicules. It wasn't true.

"On the day Itachi killed your clan there were orders from the Konoha Council; kill the Uchiha clan. Your brother simply followed orders Sasuke-kun."

"That makes no sense, why would Itachi…" His voice died as something inside him cracked. Itachi would never kill their clan because some old people told him to. Itachi did it of free will! That was the only truth... It had to be.

"Because there was something Itachi loved more than his own clan. Do you know what that is Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke's eyes were wide with confusion. "It's not… He is…"

"Peace." The snake sannin cut him off. "He sacrificed his name and life for peace."

"I don't believe you." Sasuke looked up, sharingan activated. "He's a killer!"

"He did it for peace." Orochimaru continued. "But also to protect _you, _his _dear _little brother_..._"

His sharingan deactivated and a scowl settled on his face. "Protect me? Is that supposed to be funny? He left me nothing but a life built on hate and revenge. How could that be protecting me?" Now he knew he was lying. There was no doubt.

"I tell you nothing but the truth Sasuke-kun. Why would I lie?"

"Stop fucking with me or I will kill you now." Sasuke growled and tightened his hold around the kunais in his hands. His doubt came back full force, the man was right. Lying would score nothing. There was no point in the man lying. But Itachi good? That was even harder to believe.

"I understand you find it hard to believe Sasuke-kun, after all the truth can be more hurtful than the lie itself." Orochimaru knew he had little time to convince the Uchiha and so decided to land the last blow. "But Sasuke-kun, do you really want to continue living a lie and let justice slip through your fingers, or do you want the real people behind the slaughter of your clan to feel the pain your brother and you have felt for so long?"

Sasuke did not know what to believe. A part of him told him the snake was lying yet the other part wanted to believe in the Sannin's words. He wanted to believe Itachi was still good. A memory of Itachi and him training appeared in his mind. That had been so very long ago.

"Say I believe you, why are you telling me this?"

A mischievous smirk covered Orochimaru's face and he chuckled slightly. "Come with me and I'll answer all your questions. I will help you, I will give you the revenge you crave, the revenge you _need_."

Feeling a tremble of excitement run along his spine, Sasuke dangerously narrowed his eyes. "What do you expect in exchange? I won't give you my body." He knew nothing came free in this world, especially not when it came to Orochimaru. He always wanted something in return.

Orochimaru's voice was silky from a failed try of innocence as he answered; "In time Sasuke-kun, in time."

"Do you accept?" The snake sannin laughed as his eyes glowed viciously.

Sasuke clenched his jaw. He knew he was acting careless again, he was going to break the promise he made to Naruto. 'But I also made a promise to my clan. I made a promise to myself...'

"I accept." He heard himself say. He did not know why he trusted the Snake, but he did not regret it. "But I have things to do. I need time."

"I understand Sasuke-kun. Tomorrow morning, 4AM 70 miles from the eastern gate, there will be a sound nin waiting. He will take you to me and I will tell you all you want to know."

Sasuke nodded.

**x**

Naruto sniffed the air. The smell was coming on stronger now. He had finally picked up the latest trail of Sasuke. Jumping a few branches he came to a small clearing. Kicking off the last branch he landed with a soft thump on the ground. Sasuke was standing in the middle of a small field. He barley took notice of the two lifeless bodies lying on the ground as he carefully stepped over them.

"Sasuke?" He gently questioned as the other was staring straight forward, stance completely frozen.

He watched Sasuke flinch before said man turned to face him, his face void from any kind of emotion. "Yes?"

"Are you okay? Did you see anyone?"

"Yes and no. Why, should I?" Sasuke commented, though his eyes were still distant. Naruto frowned but chose not to comment. He would discuss it once they were back in Konoha "You're bleeding from your back." He absently stated.

Sasuke looked over his shoulder. "I do."

"We should treat that."

"We are almost h-" Sasuke froze in mid sentence. He had almost said home, Konoha was not home anymore… "there," He corrected himself. "I can do it once we're back."

Naruto gave his teammate a last long look before shrugging and putting his hands in his pocket. "We should get going then." From the corner of his eye he saw Sasuke following.

He did not know what was wrong but he had a feeling deep inside that from that moment on nothing would be the same again.

/END PART TWO_ Confession and A Propitious Proposal_

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_**FICTIONAL COOKIES FOR THOSE WHO REVIEW!**_  
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I hate Itachi's life. Seriously, it always makes me bawl my eyes out. Kishimoto can be quite cruel... Ugh, don't ask me where my mind has been, I don't know. This was supposed to be posted a week ago.. But then I started watching Digimon... That anime is soo darn good if watched in original dub. Give it a try if you haven't already seen it!


	3. Sasuke's Decision

**Part Three** _- Sasuke's Decision_

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A shiver had passed through his body the moment they'd entered the village's big gates. With the words spoken by Orochimaru fresh in his mind, the feeling of suspicion had left him anxious.

Naruto had pestered him about going to lunch together but he had kindly declined saying he wasn't hungry enough. However being the persistent pain Naruto was, he hadn't been satisfied until he had invited himself over to his house later that night. Sasuke was slightly troubled by the fact. He did not want Naruto to change his mind about going, but as long as he did not speak of his decision there was no real danger by seeing him, right?

Sasuke let out a tired yawn. He was stationed in front of his writing desk in his room working on his mission report. It was tiresome and all he really wanted was to take a nap, but he wanted to finish it as fast as he could. That way it would be over sooner.

But as he for the umpteenth time yawned that day, a thought suddenly hit him. Why was he working on a mission report when he was going to leave the village the next morning? It was stupid. He could not care less about whether the village got his report or not, what did it matter?

Letting out a growl he threw the pencil on the desk and stood. He could always pack.

He emptied his traveling bag he had had on Naruto's and his mission earlier that day on the bed and went for the closet. Taking four long sleeved shirts and two T-shirts with a high collar he put them on the bed. 'I'll be damned if I have to dress in those weird robes again.' He thought repulsed. 'Though the rope was kind of cool.'

Next up were pants, black shorts. Walking to where he kept his weapons he took almost everything, leaving only a couple of shurikens behind.

There was little room left in the bag when he looked up to see if he had forgotten anything. His eyes caught sight of the team 7 group photo on his nightstand. He walked up to it and took it into his hands, for some reason he was extra careful when he lifted it from its place. As if it would break from his mere touch.

It had been taken barely 4 months after he had come back the last time from Orochimaru. This differed slightly from the first photo they took together as Genins. In this photo their positions were still the same however they were all taller and their expressions were different.

Naruto was almost in height with Kakashi whilst Sasuke was slightly shorter although taller than Sakura. They were all wearing smiles, even him. Kakashi was holding his usual perverted book but if you looked close enough you could see his one eye staring slightly into the lens of the camera. That had been a hard time on all of them. They were still dealing of feelings from his betrayal but after that photo everything seemed to become easier and things had slowly started going back to normal.

The memory made him smile fondly.

It broke his heart he had to repeat that same mistake again, but there was no other choice. He had to know the truth. He had to know whether Itachi was still the brother he had once loved and cared for. He bit his lip and put the photo to the side. Was it okay to take it with him? He was unsure. Deciding to leave it be for the time being, he walked out of the room. It hurt too much thinking of his friends.

In a futile attempt of clearing the guilt which was slowly eating him up from inside out, he decided on taking a shower and then a quick nap. Everything would be okay if he only kept his mind busy. He was sure of it.

**x**

Sasuke emitted a silent sigh and rolled over to lie on his other side. He had been trying to fall asleep for over half an hour yet sleep never seemed to come to him. He never got comfortable enough. The bed was either too hot or too cold and the sheets were suffocating him. The fact his body was fidgeting, did not exactly help him sleep either. He rubbed at his eyes and decided to give up on getting any sleep. It was pointless.

He wanted morning to come sooner. He wanted to leave as quickly as possible. The wait was making him rethink his decision. Was it wise to leave? Would everything really become better? Was it worth sacrificing everything he had worked so hard to gain back? The trust of his friends, the love he held for Naruto…

"_I understand you find it hard to believe Sasuke-kun, after all the truth can be more hurtful than the lie itself."_ Hearing those words repeat in the back of his mind Sasuke balled his fists in frustrations. No he had to know the truth, he had to know whether the snake sannin was lying or not. Justice had to be done, to him, his clan and even Itachi. He had already decided. _Fate_ had already decided.

Since the death of his clan, his life was never worth anything to begin with, he had made a promise he was going to avenge his clan. He had never been one of the town's people. He was only but a tool for justice. Love, friendship and all those other feelings which only confused him, meant nothing. He did not need any of that. He got his true strength from hatred and vengeance. Itachi had taught him that.

He was going to fight this battle, even if that meant he had to give up everything he held dear and even died at the end of it. He would not rest until he had uncovered the truth and the guilty had paid. He was an avenger. He lived only for revenge and nothing would change that.

He tossed off the cover that wrapped around his body and stepped out of the bed. He had to do something, something that would take his mind off of over thinking his decision.

His feet moved on their own accord and he soon found himself standing outside of Itachi's old room. Turning the knob with a creak, he pushed the door open. The room was dusty and an unusual silence lingered in the room. It was obvious it had been unoccupied for many years.

His eyes moved over the few picture frames on a shelf on the wall. There was a picture of his mother and father, another held him and Itachi. Itachi was hugging him from behind and his eyes shone of pride. They were both smiling.

Walking close, he took it in his hand. "Itachi…" The name ghosted out between his two lips. _He did it for peace, but also to protect you, his dear little brother._ His eyes went wide and his vision blurred. Was Itachi really good? He was so confused. His knees went weak under his weight and he fell to the floor, hugging the photo close to his heart. It was as if he was eight again and Itachi had just killed his clan. He did not know what to think. But instead of questioning whether his loved brother really was evil, it was now reversed, was his brother, the one he had spent almost half his life hating, good deep down?

'Why me? Why us?' His eyes closed. Silent tears resembling small crystals rolled down his cheeks. It was anything but fair.

**Xx**

Time went slowly. When it felt like hours had passed, only mere minutes had really gone by. Outside it was darkening and he started to wonder whether Naruto was even going to come or not. A part of him wanted him to come. He wanted to see him one last time before he left, to tell him his real feelings, yet another part knew it was better to leave without a word. That way it would be easier on both of them.

However, the decision was not for him to decide as fate had already decided for him. The doorbell echoed through the quiet house. Sasuke stood from his place on the couch and on trembling legs walked to open the door.

"Hn." He said as he opened it to be met by the sight of a grinning Naruto.

"Hey bastard!" Naruto greeted him enthusiastically. Sasuke stepped to the side, silently inviting him in.

"I'm not making you any tea, I didn't invite you."

He watched Naruto put his hands behind his head and heard him chuckle. "That's okay I can make it myself."

Sasuke flinched but commented no further he simply followed Naruto to the kitchen. He quietly watched Naruto prepare the tea.

"Thanks." He said when Naruto put a cup in front of him. He put it to his mouth and took small sips of the hot liquid. He felt nervous, what was he supposed to say? It was best not to tell him he was leaving. He knew the other would only try to stop him then, even though it was futile. His mind was set and nothing would change that. Not even the blond he loved.

"Sasuke?" Hearing Naruto speak his name made him fidget in his seat. "Y-yeah?" He damned himself for stuttering as he tried to save himself by making a somewhat relaxed facial expression.

Naruto pushed his cup further up the table and then leant his elbows against it. The air around them suddenly turned very serious as blue eyes narrowed. At that moment, Sasuke knew what was coming for him.

"I'm not gonna beat around the bush this time so I'm just gonna say it;" Naruto started. Mentally Sasuke sighed. "Before you told me you like me, right? And so I tell you I like you too, but since then you've been ignoring me. Like, the fuck? What's your problem? I want to know what you really think, were you even serious because it doesn't fucking seem that way! Do you want to pretend it never happened? Is that what you want?"

Sasuke was at a loss of words. What did he want? He knew the best thing to do was to lie. To tell the blond it was all a mistake and save them both from any unnecessary emotional distress but that would also mean he had to once again deny his own feelings. And he was tired of denying. He did not want to lie anymore. However, was it right to be selfish and tell him even though he knew it would cause the blond only pain once he realized he had left the village again?

Not receiving an answer, Naruto grew impatient. "So you're just going to give me the silent treatment then? Real mature Sasuke, real mature."

"No..." Thought Sasuke but realized with regret he had spoken out loud upon hearing Naruto ask what he meant. "I don't…I mean…"

"You mean what?" Naruto was aggravated he could tell, but he was too goddamnit. His heart told him one thing whilst his brain spoke another.

"Tell me Sasuke, yes or no. Do you like me?"

"Yes!" He spoke in the spur of the moment and thus admitting defeat to reason. "Yes... I fucking like you." He repeated once again, though it came out in barley a whisper.

Naruto's eyes eased up and a gentle smile played over his lips. Sasuke found it breathtaking. Naruto stood from his seat and leant over the table. Startled, Sasuke gasped when a warm hand came in contact with his cold cheek. Searching the other's eyes, he tried to make out what the other was thinking but whatever it was he saw, he forgot as Naruto's lips came in contact with his.

Naruto's eyes were closed as his lips moved sensually against his own trembling ones. Slowly he started responding to the kiss and he felt his eyelids grow heavy.

After what felt like seconds but lasted minutes, they separated, both slightly panting from lack of oxygen. "Thank you…" The blond whispered, causing warm puffs of air brush against his kiss swollen lips.

"Why are you thanking me, you idiot." Sasuke smiled but it quickly fell as he realized what he had done. He had told the blond he liked him and they had even kissed.

Panicking, Sasuke quickly stood from his seat and moved out from the kitchen. He had to get away from the blond otherwise he knew he would do something stupid he would regret later on. Fleeing up the stairs he soon noticed Naruto was following him. "Sasuke, wait! Where are you going?"

"No where, go home Naruto." He spoke without turning. However, apparently Naruto would have none of it because the next second he felt a hand close in around his wrist and pull him to a stop. "Sasuke what's wrong?" Staring into blue pleading eyes Sasuke emitted a sigh of defeat.

"Nothing of your concern Naruto. Believe me, you don't want to know."

"No tell me! I want to know Sasuke. Why did you suddenly walk up and leave? Didn't you like it?"

Sasuke growled as Naruto once again started rambling nonsense. Could not the blond just for once take his word for it? Did he always have to explain himself? 'Why can't I have feelings for someone less persistent?' Feeling anger flare up inside, Sasuke scowled deeply and fixed the blond under a hard glare.

"If you don't let go I will chidori you, I don't care whether I like you or not!" He grunted and tried to pull away from the blond's grip however he remained firmly in place. If anything, the blond only tightened his hold. In a final try of desperation Sasuke landed a punch to Naruto's jaw this time successfully making the blond release his hand.

"Fuck!" Naruto rubbed at his quickly bruising jaw and narrowed his eyes heatedly, unconsciously making small shivers of excitement run through Sasuke's body. "That...hurt!"

"Maybe you should liste-" With his guard down Sasuke never had the time to perceive the punch Naruto aimed at him until it connected firmly with his cheek. Sasuke stared shocked at the blond with his mouth hanging open in a silent o.

Slowly coming back to his senses Sasuke was quick to tell the blond off. "Fuck you Idiot!" "No, fuck you bastard!" Too caught up in their own anger, neither noticed the other coming closer as they continued yelling insults to each other. When their noses touched they froze to a stop, the tension in their eyes growing stronger. The next second their lips connected in a clash. Naruto crashed them into a wall, locking Sasuke between the wall and himself.

Sasuke felt his hands held tight over his head as his mouth was abused by the blond. Emitting something between a groan and a moan, Sasuke fought off the hands that held his arms and put them around the other's neck. Then with the help of Naruto, he jumped up and encircled his legs around a lean waist. "Bedroom." He panted heavily between kisses. Naruto nodded and started moving them towards the room.

Walking rather stiffly and clumsily, they soon found themselves within the walls of his bedroom. Sasuke's eyes were closed but he could feel Naruto's flutter open and at the second Naruto stopped moving his lips against his, Sasuke realized the mistake he had made.

"Sasuke, why's your bag packed? Are you going on another mission already?" Sasuke kept his eyes closed as he felt his arousal die down. He did not want Naruto to see the emotions he felt at that exact moment. He felt Naruto let go and move away from him. "Wow, looks like you've packed all your weapons. Where are you going?"

"I'm not… I mean… It's complicated Naruto." He had opened his eyes but they were trained to the floor beneath his feet. He felt too ashamed to meet the other's prying eyes.

"Waddya mean?" Asked Naruto, laughing nervously. "I know you didn't have this with you on our mission so you- ..." But before finishing his sentence, the blond went quiet.

As queasiness settled in his stomach, Sasuke clenched his eyes. He already knew what the blond was about to say. "Are you leaving again?" He did not look up.

In the edge of his vision, he saw Naruto pick up the frame with team seven's photo in it. "No matter how hard I try, I just can't win can I?" He had never heard Naruto speak with such a defeated voice.

Even though tears were threatening to fall, Sasuke decided to play it dumb and nervously asked, "What are you talking about dobe?"

"I know Sasuke. I know what happened on our mission." Sasuke creased his forehead. How could the blond know? He hadn't told him, had he been hiding in the bushes? No, he knew he had been alone back then. "H-how?" Asked Sasuke as he tried to swallow back the dry lump in his throat.

"Don't take me for the idiot I know you all think I am." Snarled Naruto unexpectedly. "I interrogated one of the sound ninjas and he told me Orochimaru was going to give the Uchiha a proposition of some sort. Knowing you I knew you would accept it but nevertheless a small part of me hoped you would flip him off, that you had something or someone who mattered more than revenge...

"Apparently I was foolish enough to expect _that_ much out of you. Care to tell me what he offered this time? Power in trade of your soul maybe?"

"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" Sasuke all but yelled. His fists balled up at his sides as his body started trembling from frustration and regret. "It's not like that." He repeated once more.

"So you're not going?" Naruto asked bewildered.

"I-I'm going. You don't understand Naruto. I can't stay here! I can't be the person you want me to be! I have to find out the truth! He told me things about Itachi… Things I need to know whether they're lies or not."

"You can't, or you just won't? That's the question Sasuke." Naruto threw the photo on the floor and stormed out of the room. Sasuke angrily followed. "Where are you going?" He demanded as if he had the right to know.

Once down by the door Sasuke caught hold of Naruto's arm but it was quickly yanked away as if burnt by his mere touch. The blond swiftly spun around and glared as he spoke with deep passion. "You know what. I don't care what you do anymore. I don't give a flying fuck about where you go or why you're going. Consider this as my final good bye because if you walk out of this village again; You and I, we're through. Got that?"

Sasuke's legs wavered and he fell to the floor, the next moment he looked up, all he saw was the back of the blond walking out his front door.

He covered his eyes with his hands. Once again he found himself asking the question, "Why?"

He had never felt so lost, confused or angry at the same time before. From inside his chest a dull ache settled in. 'Naruto…'

/END PART THREE_ Sasuke's Decision_

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For each submitted Review, Pikachu receives a cookie.

**Do you really want him to starve! D:**

Hmm, well this took a long time to submit... I really need to improve my poor writing skills... Minna-san, Gomen nasai. Please bear with me~ m(_ _)m

If you find any spelling errors - as this is not beta'd - please be kind and let me know. I'll take care of it immediately, yosh!**  
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	4. Betrayal

Yet another installment of MnM. Leave a review, or not. I sure think they're swell though!

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Part Four **–_ Betrayal_

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Standing at the eastern gate he inhaled the early morning dampness lingering the air as he secured the straps of his rucksack. 'This is it… Good bye Konoha.' Without turning around he stepped through the gate and out to freedom. The feeling of shackles coming off made his back straighten and a small smile to settle over his lips. The regret of leaving the one he loved, only a dull reminder in the back of his head as he stared at the green scenery in front of him. However, not many steps later someone called his name, causing him to stop. Frowning he turned around.

With his back hunched over and hands on his knees Naruto stood panting like a dog trying to regain the control over his breath.

"Naruto?" He spoke the blond's name confused, silently wondering why the other was there. Only hours ago Naruto had told him he never wanted to see him again. He nervously gazed over to the guards on top of the city wall. 'Please don't make him cause a scene.' He begged. He did not have the time to bother fighting them if they awoke any suspicion of him leaving the village for good.

"Sasuke, please don't go." Naruto spoke again, his eyes pleading. "Don't leave me again…"

Sasuke thanked the gods Naruto wasn't talking with his normally loud voice. "Don't ask me that Naruto. I have to." He answered calmly. "I can't live a life knowing the murderer of my clan is still out there. You can't ask that of me."

"Then let me be a part of it! I know I can help you, you don't have to face this alone!" Desperation was evident in the blond's voice as he spoke, and it made his heart clench when he answered.

"You can't. I have to do this alone. I have to know the truth behind my clan's slaughter."

"When will you see revenge is not everything? You can't let it consume you!" Naruto's voice grew louder and the desperation was quickly replaced by anger. "I won't let you! You have to fight me first!"

Stealing a quick glance at the guards, he saw they were now watching them both closely. He had to leave now or else they would figure him out. "Dobe... Tell Sakura I'm sorry." His eyes eased up and a sad smile crawled onto his lips. The next words he spoke very softly. "I love you." It quickly died in the wind and the next second Sasuke was gone.

However, Naruto had heard it. His eyes budged as they watered up and he struggled to breathe. His knees grew weak and he fell to the ground. 'Why?' he thought. "I love you too." His reply fell for deaf ears.

**Xx**

He was almost there, kicking off a last branch Sasuke landed gracefully with a soft thump on the damp ground. Quickly observing his surroundings he soon found a foreign chakra signature. "Whoever you are, come out."

First there was the rustle of leaves before a man came out from behind the trees. The man wore a wide smirk and his golden eyes almost seemed to glow of mirth. He was a bit taller than himself, his hair a strange green color, and his skin was slightly tanned. Sasuke narrowed his eyes and put up his mask void of any emotion. "Who are you?" He cautiously asked, his eyes staring straight into the other's cold eyes. First impression was everything, if he let his eyes wander away or even blink he knew the other would lose respect for him.

However as the man was only a few steps in front of him, said man tripped over his own feet and fell face down in the dirt. Whatever respect Sasuke had held for the man, it was gone now.

"Ugh" He heard the man groan before crawling up on his feet again. "That hurt." He commented to himself with a whiny voice. On the outside Sasuke looked bored but on the inside he wore a deep frown. 'What an idiot.' He thought.

After brushing off the dirt off his clothes the man held out his hand as he grinned. "I'm Akuun, but you can call me Akuun. Nice to meet you…"

The only thought that crossed his mind was '_is this guy for real_?' as Sasuke stared with arrogance from the outstretched hand to the guy's face and then back. Emitting a grunt Sasuke dryly spoke his name.

"Ah Sasuke-kun, I shall call you Sasuke-kun!"

In less than a second Sasuke pulled out a shuriken and pressed it to the guy's neck. Growling dangerously he hissed. "Call me that and I will cut up your throat." At least one thing was good with leaving Konoha he decided, he could finally be himself again. He could hear the bells ringing and angels cry hallelujah in his head. 'Aah.'

Akuun thickly swallowed and with wide eyes nodded. As Sasuke let go he quickly rubbed at his neck. "Let's go."

"Yes Sasuke-sama!"

**Xx**

Sakura stood in the kitchen making breakfast when suddenly there was a loud knocking sound coming from the kitchen door. Calling out for the person to come in she watched a blond mop of hair enter. "Hey Naruto!" She greeted happily, but upon seeing Naruto's stone face; concern washed over her and so she quickly asked what was wrong.

However Naruto remained silent as he only took a seat by the table. Sakura frowned feeling genuinely worried about the blond. "Seriously Naruto, what's wrong." She pressed. Had someone died? She had never before seen her blond teammate look so defeated. It scared her.

"He's gone…" Naruto mumbled and put his hands to cover his eyes. "He fucking left... Again."

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows as she could not figure out who it was the blond possibly meant. "Who Naruto? Who left?"

"Who do you think?" Naruto uncovered his eyes revealing an angry glare mixed with tears. "Sasuke. That bastard packed his stuff together and left. He left!"

Sakura suddenly felt very heavy as she landed ass flat on the chair beside her. "What do you mean he left, left to where?" She was stunned. She had finally started believing the brunet was back, and now he had left again? How could that be, they were friends weren't they?!

"Orochimaru. He promised Sasuke something… I don't know why, he wouldn't tell me. It was something about the Uchiha slaughter."

Sakura only nodded, not trusting her voice. Suddenly she felt as if she had taken the beating of a thousand men. Her heart ached at the once again betrayal by her – or what she had thought was – friend.

Forcing herself to speak she softly asked, "But.. How do you know he has left? Maybe you're wrong?" She knew her hopes were futile, she could feel it from the marrow of her bones but her heart would not accept it. Her heart wanted to believe in Sasuke. It wanted to believe that they did share a bond together. That it had not only been her imagination.

"I saw him leave." Naruto whispered. "I even saw him before…"

"You mean you could've stopped him?" Sakura asked slightly peeved. "Yet you didn't?"

Naruto shook his head no. "His mind was set Sakura-chan. I tried, believe me but I couldn't… You know, I wanted to beat him unconscious and tie him to me so that he had to stay. But I know now from experience, Sasuke cannot be tied down. He's kind of like a bird you know. We can't cage something that was meant to soar. We can try, but then we'd be selfish..."

Sakura stared at Naruto as if he had grown a second head. When had Naruto turned smart? Swallowing back the rapidly growing lump in her throat Sakura rubbed at her eyes. "I guess you're right, Naruto." They fell into a comfortable silence, neither knowing what to say.

"When are we going to tell Tsunade?"

"We have to tell her?" Naruto knew his friend was right, but at the same time he felt protective of Sasuke. He did not want people to think of him as a traitor. If he was marked as a missing nin that meant they would.

"Naruto." Sakura warned, knowing exactly what the other was thinking as the same thoughts bothered her, but she knew what they had to do. It was only right.

"We could go now, just give me a few minutes..." Sakura nodded, agreeing with Naruto. Waiting a few more minutes was only fair enough. She glanced over to her half made pancakes. Curling her lip in disgust, suddenly she wasn't hungry anymore. 'Sasuke, you idiot.' The tears that had threatened to fall earlier now streamed along her cheeks.

**XxXxX**

"_I knew you would come back sooner or later, dobe. You're hotheaded and you say stuff you don't mean. You are such an idiot._

_I'm not one for words and I've definitely never been good at apologizing._

_Although for once I'm going to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry I have feelings for you and I'm sorry for making you have feelings for me. I guess we weren't meant to be._

_Maybe all this was nothing but a cruel joke made by fate. Well whatever it was, I'll always remember it._

_By the way, you're the worst kisser ever._

_Sasuke."_

Naruto reread the letter he had found upon entering the Uchiha's house. It had been placed by the front door, signed only for him. 'Worst kisser ever?! I'll have you know I've had girls tell me I kiss like a fucking professional.' He crumpled the sheet in his hands and shoved it down his pants pocket.

He moved slowly further inside the house. The silence that lingered in the air made small shivers run along his skin giving him goose bumps. When no one was around it was extremely lonesome. He found himself wondering how the other had felt living alone in the big mansion with so many bad memories haunting him.

His feet moved on their own accord and he soon entered the brunet's room. It smelled strongly of the other's scent. He clutched the letter harder in his hand and stepped further inside. The photo frame he had thrown to the floor the other day still laid on the floor. Broken shards of glass scattered around it, however the picture was gone.

It made him smile. At least that meant he still cared about them.

He could not bring himself to be angry at his friend. No matter how hurt or betrayed he felt. Ever since Sasuke had come back three years ago, he had always had the feeling the brunet would leave again so it had not come as a shock once he had realized he was. He was just hurt the other still thought he had to do it alone, as if their friendship was not proof enough.

He produced a sigh and lay down on the bed. It gave him comfort as if it was his own. He inhaled the strong scent of Sasuke and closed his eyes. Maybe if he wished hard enough, the brunet would be there when he opened his eyes.

"**Gaki you better stop this moping or I swear I'm going to make you pay."** He suddenly heard the fox say from inside its cage.

Naruto snorted. 'As if.'

"**I can sing."** Kyuubi snarled.

'I'll just shut you out then.'

"**So you think pathetic moping's gonna bring you Sasuke back?  
**

'It's no use Kyuubi. What I told Sakura; I can't cage a bird that was meant to soar.'

"**Oi, skip that crap for humans you idiot. If you want him just torture him until he stays. That's what I would've done."**

'That's the difference between you and me. I'm realistic, so stop with your moronic ideas.'

"**If you have that attitude no wonder he left you behind. If all you can do is sulk I wouldn't need you with me either. What he needs is someone like me, someone strong, and someone who's willing to **_**kill **_**for him."**

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows, feeling confused. 'Waddya mean..?'

"**I say prove him wrong you idiot. Prove to him you are worth fighting beside, show him you are willing to help him no matter what that help includes."**

Naruto stared at the ceiling over him as he thought of what Kyuubi had just said. For once, the fox's words made sense. If he wanted Sasuke back, if he wanted to help him he just had to prove he was worth fighting beside.

With a new found will, Naruto narrowed his eyes. "I'll prove my strength to you Sasuke. I will have you. Believe it!"

_/END PART FOUR - Betrayal_


	5. Changes in Me

For those who don't understand the 'one year later' this means I've made a time skip of one year. Now let me introduce to you...

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**Part Five** –_ Changes in Me_

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**One year later.**

He pressed his heels softly down into the carpet beneath his feet. There was little sound but a single man's silent snores echoing in the deafly silence of night. With great stealth he moved closer to the sleeping man. As he pulled out a sword from behind his back, Naruto stared at the man oblivious to his fate. Who was he? He did not know. What was the reason? Once again he found himself lacking an answer. For some reason the man had to die. Naruto had read the mission description and there it had said as if it was a mere grocery shopping list, the man had to die.

"**What are you waiting for Gaki, do it!"** he heard the Kyuubi roar impatiently as it banged its nine tails excitedly against the cage bars.

'This is for you Sasuke.'

Naruto felt his arms move as his eyes turned hollow. With trained grace he slit the man's throat and watched as blood started pouring out, staining the white sheets. The man never woke up. He slowly choked in his sleep.

He dried the sword's blade against the sheets before putting it back in its holster. Another mission completed. Turning around he quickly fled the scene.

**Xx**

Sasuke flopped down on the bed in his crypt releasing a heavy sigh. He had just got back from a small errand Orochimaru had made him do together with two other sound ninjas. Though it had mostly been uneventful his body ached from sore muscles. He had been training jutsus nonstop for days now, only taking small breaks for sleep and food.

Once he had made sure no one was around to see him, he let his usual mask of arrogance fall to be replaced by a thoughtful expression. For a few seconds he stared at a folder(1) lying beside his bed, quietly contemplating things, before he stretched out and grabbed it in his hands. The pages were slightly wrinkled from having been reread at least a thousand of times. It was the folder containing the execution of the Uchiha clan. Ordered and signed by the one and only Danzo.

He had been given it straight after coming to sound. Orochimaru had kept his promise and told him about the mission, of how Konoha had made Itachi kill his own family. After having dealt with a lot of confusion, anger, and finally sorrow, he had sworn revenge onto the Konoha elders. He had almost been ready to leave right away, right after arriving back in sound a year ago but Orochimaru had stopped him. He had convinced him that if he were to attack he would only end up getting killed. To achieve revenge he had to grow stronger first, he had to learn about his opponent's strengths and weaknesses. Then he had to use that information and strike when the village was weak.

Therefore Sasuke did nothing else but train. Slowly getting closer to his finale, the day when he would kill the Konoha elders. During his training he had tried to find out the whereabouts of his brother but no matter how many people he threatened no one knew a thing. He had questions he wanted to ask him, he needed to know why Itachi had made him hate him during so many years.

A sudden knock on his door made Sasuke sit up, his mask void of emotion already firmly in place. The door opened and Kabuto stepped inside. "Orochimaru wants to see you Sasuke-kun." The brunet spoke.

Sasuke nodded.

**Xx**

Naruto threw the house keys on the table beside the door as he had just come back from the Hokage tower to report the success on his mission. It had been a full success earning him a small salary.

Moving further inside his apartment he started to undress from his dirty clothes. Upon entering the bathroom he stopped to stare into the mirror. What looked back at him was a person void of feelings. His eyes were a dark blue they no longer held that innocent pale blue it had only a year earlier.

Snorting he turned around and stripped himself of his dirty boxers and then stepped into the shower.

Feeling the stickiness caused by sweat leave his skin he leaned his hands against the shower wall and sighed. With the warm sprays heating his skin he felt the tension from before leave his stiff shoulders. He rolled his neck and heard it crack satisfyingly. He was done for the day, but he had already been given a new mission which started tomorrow. It was an infiltration job in some lord's gang. He was going to steal some information. He had only read it briefly, he would reread it later.

After a few more minutes spent in the shower he shut off the water and stepped out. He dried his body and went to get dressed but was distracted by the doorbell ringing. Pulling on a pair of clean underwear he went to open the door.

"Iruka! Long time no see." He greeted once he saw who it was.

"Hello Naruto." The teacher spoke softly, sporting a gentle smile.

He sidestepped to invite him inside as Iruka happily obliged and entered. "I heard from Kakashi he saw you come back from your mission an hour ago. I hope I'm not being a bother."

Naruto only shook his head as he walked back to his bedroom indicating with his hand for the other to follow. "Not at all, Iruka-sensei is always welcome." He smiled over his shoulder before digging through his closet for clothes to wear. "So what brings you here?"

"Is it wrong of me to want to see my favorite student?" Iruka took a seat on the blond's bed. Silently noting how well done it was. Usually it would be a total mess.

"Ex-student" Corrected Naruto with a smile. "And of course not," said he and pulled on a pair of loose white pants. "I only thought maybe something had happened since you came so soon after I just got back."

"Well you're hardly at home anymore. As soon as you're finished with a mission you seem to accept another." Iruka frowned. "It's been that way ever since Sasuke left…"

Naruto's shoulders tensed upon hearing his friend's name. It always made him feel strange. It wasn't just sadness, nor was it anger, more like something in between the two. "Yah well that's life when you're in ANBU. They're not exactly known for handing out vacations." Naruto said defensively.

"I know that, but I also know they don't work their ninjas as hard as you do. Just know that I'm here if you ever need to talk Naruto."

Naruto nodded, next followed an awkward silence.

"Anyway I came to see if you're hungry?" Asked Iruka, his voice strangely nervous, and at that second Naruto's stomach decided to make itself known with a loud gurgle. Iruka let out a mild chuckle as he stood from the bed. "Guess that would be a yes."

Once again Naruto nodded as he suddenly felt very hungry. He had not eaten for two days. He had been too busy working. 'Had it been a year ago that never would've happened.' he thought amused.

"Ramen at Ichiraku's, my treat?" Iruka smiled, waiting for Naruto's usual enthusiasm however, the blond only shrugged as he grabbed his coat. "Whatever sounds good, I'm starving."

Brown eyes followed dejectedly the blond's back as he made his way out of the apartment. 'What has ANBU done to you Naruto..?'

**xX**

"How nice of you to come." Orochimaru spoke with a silky voice upon that Sasuke entered the man's room. Sasuke nodded his curt greeting and stepped further inside the room. "You called, Orochimaru-sama?"

Orochimaru grinned in satisfaction upon being called a master by the stoic Uchiha, it always made his body shiver in sick pleasure. "Did it go well?"

Knowing the question was about the mission, Sasuke nodded. "We left it in the chamber."

"Good, good. I hope the two ninjas I sent with you were to any help?" Orochimaru spoke with confidence and calm as he approached him. A cold hand caressed his cheek. It made him nauseous, but he did not fend it off. He still needed the Snake's information.

He grunted his disapproval. "I could have done it by myself. I am strong enough."

"Yes, why of course. It's just… I wouldn't want any harm done to my future… Well yes." Yellow eyes glowed with hunger of which made Sasuke involuntary shiver. There was something hidden behind the man's words, yet he did not question about it. He thought the less he knew the better he'd be off.

"Very well Sasuke-kun. We are planning on doing a small experiment today. So you would do best to just rest some for now and then tonight Kabuto will… come for you. Hmm?"

Sasuke nodded and then turned to leave the room. As he walked away from the snake sannin he felt yellow eyes bore into his back. Another shiver passed through his body as he disappeared from the older man's sight. A voice in the back of his mind told him he would do better as far away as possible from the snake, but being too stubborn, Sasuke simply shrugged it off and made his way back to his cave.

**xX**

_Steps echoed loudly as he walked aimlessly through the thick forest. The outside world was effectively muffled by the trees rich crowns as trees grew tightly next to each other, making it seem as if he was the only living creature. His feet were sore from hours walking when he stopped by a small pound. Water poured along a slim stream, creating a harmonizing sound._

_Squatting down, he created a bowl of his hands. He drank the water, suddenly very thirsty. As he was about to drink a second time, a cracking sound made him release his hands, thus dropping the water between his fingers. Blue eyes narrowed when yet another crack echoed soundly. "Who's there?" He asked, cautiously watching his surroundings. A child's laughter playfully rode on a soft wind, caressing scarred cheeks. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. Then he opened them again. Blond brows came together as a bush not too far away suddenly started shaking. He took a step closer to the bush as he gripped a shuriken in his hand. It could be an enemy ninja._

_However, the shuriken quickly dropped to the ground as a child came running out from the bushes. He had to jump to the side as the child, undisturbed by his presence, ran straight forward to the stream. He watched the blond child repeat what he himself had done only seconds ago. The boy sat down on the soft grass, and started drinking, never looking up to acknowledge him._

_Still not sure of what was happening; he stayed wary as he walked up until he was right behind the younger boy. "Kid?"_

_No sign of recognition was made as the child continued to gulp down water. He grew impatient and put his hand on the child, hoping the contact would jerk the boy awake. In the blink of an eye the child was standing in front of him. His eyes a dead black and arms hanging limply by his sides. The scenery had changed, what had been green only seconds before were a withered brown, and the stream which had been blue was red._

_Furrowing his eyebrows together, he noted the changes in the boy. His clothes was torn and his face covered by soot. The child coughed as it gasped for breath. "NO! Please!" _

_Naruto became confused as the child's blue eyes suddenly turned wide with fear. He looked at his hands, searching for the cause of the sudden change. In his hand he held a katana. How it had gotten there he had no clue. He tried to release it from his grip but his hand stayed firmly around its handle. He looked back at the boy. _

_"Onii-san, what have I ever done to you...?" If possible, his hand tightened even further around the cold handle. He looked down to the weapon and then back at the child. His eyes softened upon realizing what he had to do. These missions were the worst and the hardest to complete... But he had to. There was never an option. Not if he wanted to have him back._

_"Oniisan please, does my life mean nothing to you?" the child's words broke through his thoughts like a blade of steel. Smiling pitifully at the younger life, Naruto shook his head as he loosened the grip around the sword. "There is value in all of us, unfortunately, knowing that isn't always enough..."_

_Upon finishing those words his sword moved as if steered by an invisible force and impaled the child's body. Nothing but a mumbled sentence was heard before the body went limp. "By killing me, you're killing yourself."_

_"I don't mind if it's all for Sasuke..."_

A screaming voice made Naruto lurch up in bed, only to notice the scream came from himself. He gripped at his beating heart and wiped his forehead from sweat. "It was a dream…" He spoke out loud, a try to convince himself nothing was wrong. It helped little, but not by much. In truth, he knew the dream itself wasn't true but it was enough to remember him of the horrible things he had done on his missions as an Anbu. He had killed children before and countless of adults. So much blood has been spilled by his hands that his hands were always covered by an invisible layer of blood. It was impossible to wash it away, no matter how hot the water was or how long he stayed under the sprays of the shower.

A sudden pound in his chest caused his breath to hitch and left him gasping out for air. Coughing loudly, he covered his mouth with a trembling hand, a try to regain the control of his breathing. He had become a monster but that was a prize he was prepared to pay to get Sasuke back. He _needed_ him back, because without him his life wasn't worth living anyways.

Feeling his breath coming back, he removed his hand from his mouth. Staring at it in the darkness he distinguished a red liquid sprawled across his hands. 'Not again…'

/END CHAPTER FIVE _Changes in Me_

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Reviews are much appreciated!

Sentence/Spelling error? Let me know.

(1) This was what was collected in the first scene of this story.


	6. As We Change

**Chapter 5½** - As we change

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**(Half a year earlier)**

"Ugh...

"This is getting me no where!" Naruto loudly complained with his hands clenched around knees. He had been training nonstop for soon to be 16 hours when exhaustion eventually hit him. Listening to his own heavy pants he closed his eyes and tried to conjure up more energy; he had to continue.

During the six months since Sasuke's betrayal, he had increased his speed and his techniques were slowly growing stronger, however as much progress as he'd made, he felt as if it wasn't enough. Deep inside his heart he craved power; a power that would force Sasuke to acknowledge him as an equal. As it was at the moment he knew he was weaker than Sasuke and therefore didn't deserve the place to fight beside him.

Groaning in light agony for the umpteenth, Naruto fell backwards and landed with a heavy thump at the ground. Allowing himself a short break, he started searching for different constellations in the sky. He inhaled richly as the exhaustion got the better of him and his eyes fell closed.

"Do you remember that night we laid on the field, too tired to move from a spar we'd just finished and Sakura yelled at us for being stupid and reckless?" Naruto mumbled to himself.

"… _Why? Should I?"_

"I wish…" Naruto grinned. "I totally won."

"_Hn, you wish dobe… You could never beat me."_

Naruto chuckled and opened his eyes. "I gue-" Looking around he quickly realized Sasuke was nowhere to be seen. 'Damn.' He cussed his own mental health. His mind loved playing games on him ever since the day Sasuke had left him, and being the fool he is, he always fell for it.

"I can't take this any longer!" Naruto cried out to the blackness surrounding him. "I need more!"

"**You should try listening to what I've been telling you these last few months brat!" **The Kyuubi, momentarily awake, shook his nine tails excitedly.** "To gain power; to gain the strength you need for that disgusting human, you need to stop these weak tries at training!"**

"Shut up Kyuubi! I'm trying my best here!" Naruto protested.

"**You could always try fooling yourself human, but you can't fool me. I know what's in your mind. I know all about how you feel.**

"**I know the frustration you feel each time that thing you call Hokage give you missions meant for Genins. I sense your thirst for power, I taste the darkness inside you but what I can't see is you dealing and working for it! To gain in this world, you have to make sacrifices. Bitching about it in your head won't do much other than giving me a constant headache. Get a grip Gaki!**

"What do you suggest…?" Naruto absently questioned. He couldn't deny the fox's opinion was interesting.

"**Grow a spine and join ANBU. Let yourself use your true power; MY powers. Together you and I can create a power greater than ever. We would be unstoppable."**

**Xx**

Hands clapped, creating an echo in the dark arena. "I didn't think it was possible to improve that technique but it seems you've surprised me yet again Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke looked up for a second, his eyes blood red. "What do you want?" He demanded as he wiped blood off Kusanagi against his pants.

"It's only normal for a teacher to supervise his apprentice's training, isn't it Sasuke-kun?"

"You are not my teacher."

"Be careful, even I could get hurt Sasuke-kun." The man chuckled

"I couldn't care less." Sasuke coldly replied.

"Always so harsh..." The man looked away to study his surroundings. Bodies in different sizes laid scattered across the floor. "I see you didn't kill many of them…"

"Hn."

"I've said this before; humility won't make justice."

"The day I make justice, there won't be humility. I simply don't bother sorting weeds."

"Always so harsh…" The man repeated his words however smirked cunningly. "In the end I guess it won't matter…"

At the last statement Sasuke frowned, slightly curious of what the other meant, but he soon dismissed it. He hadn't time for stupid questions, he only had to get stronger. "Orochimaru, teach me a new jutsu."

"Of course."

**Xx**

2 weeks later and Naruto was officially an ANBU. It had been fairly easy. All he had been given was a simple test; infiltration and recovery of stolen information. He had finished it with ease and been welcomed to the special group. Some of his friends had objected to his decision to join the black ops, Sakura for example, but since the Kyuubi had convinced him he knew joining ANBU was his only choice. He knew he wouldn't grow strong enough fast enough if he relied on training alone. He needed the black ops to prepare him of what was to come if he fought beside Sasuke, he had to face reality and stop being a kid.

It was with that in mind that Naruto found himself placed by a ramen stand, in a village far away from Konoha. It was his first mission as an ANBU and he was already working alone. The mission was simple, all he had to do was to locate and terminate a missing-nin.

For being a missing-nin the man had been found fairly easy, much to Naruto's relief. The faster he completed the mission the sooner he could take on another. However, as he sat eating his bowl of ramen while watching the target slurp down his own, a strange feeling settled in his stomach. The man's life was sealed however the man himself had no clue.

'No, I'm not going there again. He's a mission; a task; an object. He betrayed the village and therefore is a threat.' Naruto reassured himself as soon as he felt his confidence slightly crumble. 'But so is Sasuke…' A voice reminded him and thus his eyebrows creased together in a scowl.

"Something wrong, young boy?" He heard the man behind the counter say.

Naruto shook his head and smiled kindly as to not attract his target's attention. "This ramen is delicious."

The man smiled and then continued serving another customer.

Naruto threw a quick glance at the missing-nin two seats down and noticed the man had finished eating. He waited for said man to walk away before he thanked for his meal and slowly started pursuing his target. He knew exactly where the other was going, he had been following the man for 2 days and knew his routine inside out. In just a few minutes he would pass through an empty ally and that was the point where Naruto would strike.

As they came closer to the finishing stop, Naruto pulled a kunai from his weapon holster. His grip was firm when he pushed the ex-ninja to a wall. The fear shown in his brown eyes made his decision falter for a second and at that second the man managed to slip out from his firm grip. The ninja made a shadow clone in a weak try to get away but Naruto had already put his seal on the man and thus surprised him by suddenly standing in front of him. "This ends here." He spoke and tripped the man to the ground.

Crouching over him he kept squirming hands in a tight grip with one of his hands. "Rasengan!" He spoke after realizing he had dropped the kunai a few feet away. With cold eyes he stared at the squirming body beneath him. His target's face was wrinkled up as he fought for his freedom.

"Kill him." Naruto heard the fox whisper as he hesitated. He had never killed anyone on command before, it went against his way of life, but he had decided to sacrifice that part of him, so why did he hesitate?

"I-I can't…" He spoke out loud. The body beneath him quickly went still as a shaky voice pulled him back from his thoughts.

"I-it's okay. Y-You don't have to. I promise I won't t-tell anyone. I p-promise." Naruto met eyes wide by fear with a gentle smile.

"I can't do that either..." He answered coolly and closed his eyes to inhale a calming breath. The moment his eyes reopened the rasengan in his hand flared up to its doubled size and his eyes were tainted red. In a swift motion the ball of chakra pushed through skin and the man's squirming came to an end.

The red slowly pulled back and blue eyes stared at the limp body. It took all his might not to break down at that moment.

**/END PART FIVE AND A HALF – **_As we change  
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AN: A glimpse of how Naruto became anbu. Thought this would be interesting to help explain some changes in his personality. Next chapter will be up Monday 23rd. My sincere apologies, Ima try speed up my updating process from now on -_-'  
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	7. Sasuke's News

2 days later, but it's up. Enjoy~

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**Chapter 6 - **_Sasuke's News

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Dark eyes fluttered awake after what felt like a very deep sleep as a tired hand slowly went to rub at itching eyes. Stifling a yawn, Sasuke tossed the comforter to the side and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Stretching his sore body, he heard his back muscles crack loudly. Nodding his satisfaction he quickly stood but a sudden dizziness made his legs topple over and he fell back down on the bed.

'Fuck.' Clearing his head, Sasuke was just about to give standing another chance, however got distracted by someone opening the door. "Sasuke-kun I see you're finally awake. That's good."

"Hn." Sasuke cautiously followed Kabuto with his eyes as the man put a tray of food on the desk facing across of him.

"How are we feeling today, Sasuke-kun?" The four eyed man stood in front of him, ogling him from head to toes, as if looking for some kind of default.

"I'm fine," Sasuke grumbled, silently wondering why the other was looking at him so strangely. "Just a bit dizzy." He admitted.

Kabuto narrowed his eyes but they soon fell into crescents, as if suddenly remembering something important. "That's probably because of the poison we tested on you yesterday. No need to worry, it should go away by itself."

Sasuke's brows creased together as he glared at the older man objectively. "Poison..?" He repeated his voice strangely tense.

"Relax Sasuke-kun," Kabuto coaxed when he saw the sharingan flash in otherwise black eyes. "If it was any dangerous we never would have used you. When it comes to you… Orochimaru's plan goes far beyond a few simple experiments."

Sasuke was good at reading people so he knew when the other spoke the truth. His eyes went back to normal as he huffed in annoyance. He didn't like it but knew complaining was useless. Instead he let his curiousness of Orochimaru's plan over take his mind. "Exactly what is his plan for me? I've been here a year and he's still not mentioned what it is."

"You needn't concern yourself just yet. It's nothing of importance." Kabuto answered without hesitation.

He knew the silver haired man was lying, although had no clue to why that was. Was it so bad that they feared he would leave if he found out? "It's about me isn't it?" He pressed. "It's nothing but my concern."

"Sasuke-kun," The other started but was interrupted by someone entering the chamber with a loud call.

"SASUKE-SAMA!"

The two stared at the newcomer, one relieved and the other annoyed. "Idiot." Sasuke growled whilst Kabuto started inching further away from Sasuke and closer to the door leading out.

"Did I interrupt something, Sasuke-sama?"

"Ye-" Sasuke was cut off by Kabuto. "Not at all Akuun, we were just finished." Speaking those last words he bid them both farewell and sent Sasuke a victory smirk before sliding out the room.

"I'm sorr-" Akuun began but Sasuke cut him off. "I don't care. Just tell me why you're here so you can leave again."

Akuun straightened and saluted as he usually did when he was around Sasuke. The boy had a deep respect for him, though said respect hadn't been very difficult to earn what with the boy being an idiot not even worth rivaling with Naruto.

"There has been word about Itachi."

Sasuke's head fell low as shock settled in his abdomen. His eyes slightly wider than usual he stared trained at the floor. 'Itachi...' Without looking up Sasuke grit his teeth and ordered with all the calm he could manage; "Tell me!"

"So I was down at the south eastern battlefield training my new jutsu. You know the one I stole from that pitiful trash down in water country. You know, you know right? So just when I was-"

"The part about Itachi! _Tell me_ the part about Itachi!" Sasuke growled impatiently, his fists clenched tightly together – enough to make blood drip along the knuckles - at his sides.

"Of course." Akuun gulped back the sudden feeling of fear that flared up inside at Sasuke's harsh tone, before continuing calmly. "Itachi's been seen outside of lightning country and is now supposed to be heading towards fire country. Apparently something's going down with the Akatsuki at the moment. Last time, which was a week ago, he was seen with Kisame -"

**Xx**

Sasuke had dismissed Akuun as soon as the boy had finished telling him the details about Itachi. He sat on his futon, his body stiff from the sea of emotions that were swirling like a whirlpool inside his mind. There were mixed feelings of hate, confusion, sorrow and something he could not put his mind on. This was what he had been waiting for his whole life. From a year spent with no information about his brother's whereabouts, the man had finally surfaced from the depths of Akatsuki's hideout.

The file about his clan's destiny was clenched firmly in his hand. As much as he had thought of exactly this moment, he was at a loss of what he would do. Had it been a year ago, before he had found out the truth he would have been already on his way. His mind set on killing the murderer who had betrayed their clan but as it was now he was dumbfounded of what to do. Could he kill his brother even though he knew the truth? He was still the killer who had slaughtered their parents and eliminated the clan, nothing of that had changed. Did knowing the truth really change everything?

"Damn!" He cussed out loud, letting the empty room know of his inner conflict. "Stupid Aniki…" He felt his eyes water up from aggravation but no tears came. Deep inside his heart he wanted things to go back to before. He wanted his loving aniki back; the one who would play with him; he who would always listen to him and stand up for him in front of their father whenever he needed recognition. But, no matter how much he wished for it, it was impossible. The past had been cruel to him and the past was now nothing else but the past; a remaining memory of a time too long ago.

Releasing his grip around the Uchiha massacre file, he put it on the bed beside him. Giving it a last glance he stood up and walked over to the opposite side of the room. He pressed a pattern into the stone wall which was followed by a muffled sound. Next a small hole was reveled in the wall. He stretched out his arm and pulled out a shriveled photo. "What would you do?" He questioned absently as if the person in the photo would answer him.

Staring at it for what felt like an eternity, his mind eventually came to a conclusion. 'I can't stay here…'

The photo fell from his hands and slowly descended to the floor. Giving it a last glance he closed his eyes and then walked to where he stored Kusanagi. It hung on the wall above his bed, easily accessed if someone would attack him in his sleep.

Putting it between the handsome purple bow that surrounded his waist he left the room, not caring about taking anything else with him. He was still uncertain of what he would do when he faced Itachi, but he knew he couldn't sit around in his room contemplating it any longer. The longer it took for him to decide upon his future, the longer ahead of him Itachi would get.

The tunnels were cramped but after years spent in them he knew his way around without anyone helping him. His room was stationed only a mile or two from the southwest entrance. After a few minutes of running without any encounters, Sasuke felt an unfamiliar chakra signature follow him. Slowing down until he came to a stop Sasuke stood in the middle of the tunnel, thus forcing his follower to a stop. "Don't follow me." Sasuke ordered, his eyes cold as steel.

The follower jerked at his tone but nonetheless stood her ground. "Orochimaru-sama's not going to be pleased. Where are you going? Your orders are to stay in your room."

Sasuke let out an empty laugh as he pulled Kusanagi from its case. "Follow me and I will kill you." If the girl thought she was stronger than him he would prove her wrong. Even though he was in a hurry he never backed down to lecture trash their rightful place.

"Hmph like you could kid! I'm sure Orochimaru-sama will give me a big bonus if I bring you to him and rat out your plans." The girl spoke with stuffed confident and charged forward in the cramped tunnel. Her hands moved in an incredible speed as she seconds later held a kunai in each hand.

Sasuke smirked at the girl's futile attack. As she aimed one of her kunais at him he deflected it easily with his sword by splitting it in two. The girl was shocked but was quick to jump back, only to start forming seals. **"**dotori no jutsu!" Sasuke stared indifferently as mud shaped birds flew from the wall in his direction. With little effort he cut through one of them, but as soon as it was slashed a big explosion followed.

He jumped back just in time, slightly surprised by the hidden attack. Landing on his feet only a few feet from his previous spot Sasuke let out another empty chuckle. "I'll give you credit, I didn't' see that coming. Nevertheless, trash should stay trash. Die." Dodging the next flock of mud birds with defined grace, he charged forward.

The girl gasped as she suddenly found herself on the floor of dirt. "How..?" She asked, genuinely surprised by her defeat. "I didn't even see you c-coming."

Staring at the girl as she coughed up blood Sasuke dried off his blade. 'Trash…' He thought in disgust.

Then he turned and continued running for the exit. If he wanted to catch up to his brother he had to hurry, or else he would lose him again and that was something he would not allow. 'Not this time.'

**Xx**

Inside a dimly lit chamber, merely a mile from the Uchiha a man sat in front of an open fire. Twisted golden eyes and an equally twisted smile covered his features, making it seem as if the man was pleased with something.

A knock on the door and a sudden entrance disturbed the peace the man had created. To show his displeasure the man snarled as his eyes narrowed. "Kabuto…"

Said man's shoulders grew tense but upon forcing himself to relax walked further up to the man in front of the fire. "Orochimaru-sama it's about Sasuke-kun! He's escaping!"

Orochimaru stared deeply into the fire as he thought of what to do next. "Where is he now?"

"He's still in the tunnels. Should I send a team to catch him?"

"No… That won't be necessary."

Kabuto frowned as he was unable to understand his master's wishes. They had been experimenting on Sasuke for years and they finally had results. They had already let him leave once, would they really do it yet another time? He voiced his uncertainties. "Orochimaru-sama! What about the plans. If we let him go again he might not come back."

"Where's he going?" Orochimaru's eyes stayed trained on the fire as he focused on the other's next words.

"Itachi's surfaced. Akatsuki's started moving again…"

"Hm." Feeling a sudden ease in his shoulders, Orochimaru chuckled. Everything would be fine as long as he didn't meet up with the Kyuubi container. "Itachi… Things couldn't develop any better…" The snake Sannin smirked in confidence.

"So we shouldn't restrain Uchiha?"

"fufufufu Kabuto…" For the first time the man looked away from the fire to look at the other. "There will be plenty of time later… He will be back."

Kabuto gulped. "How do you know?"

"_I know."_

**/END PART SIX **_Sasuke's News_

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__Make me cute lil' dog happy.__ Review please._

**Your**_ opinion matters!_

_So Sasuke centered chapter, wow. As much as this was fun to write I really enjoy writing Naruto more. Idk, but Sasuke's so effing emotional._

_I wish I could've developed Akuun's character more but it never seem to fit in the story. There's a reason to why you never get to see Sasuke when he's in Otogakure; it's just not interesting hence no chance to squeeze him in. Maybe there'll be a chance later to... I hope so..  
_


	8. and so it begins

**Chapter Seven -**_ and so it begins..._

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A year later and he was back once again. Sasuke gazed out over the village of his birth and partial growth. The village he had abandoned twice during his life time. It looked peaceful. As if nothing had changed during his absence. But then again nothing probably had. Konoha was a calm town.

He wondered absently what Sakura was doing, whether she was working at the hospital, or perhaps away on a mission. He wondered what Naruto was doing, if he was eating at Ichiruka's with Iruka, or perhaps he too was away on a mission.

A tiny jerk of his lips escaped through his hold over his emotion, but it quickly faded. He was there to find Itachi, not to reminisce about the past. His stance stiffened against the tree he was leaning his hand against as a wind playfully blew his bangs sideways. 'Itachi…'

Two days had passed since he had left Sound thus leaving Itachi with a week and two days' head start, but instinct told him Itachi wasn't too far from the village. Gazing over the proud city a last time, Sasuke then disappeared in a blur. "Henge no jutsu!" he called as he ran and with a puff of smoke he was suddenly 10 inches taller, wore a face mask and held an orange book in his hand. 'This better work.' He thought slightly frustrated as he got closer to the northern entrance.

Coming to a halt a few feet before the grand doors Sasuke slowed down to a walking pace. Slouching like his old sensei he continued until he was right before the guards.

"Identify yourself." One of the ninja's spoke as soon as he was in talking range.

"Hatake Kakashi, Konoha Jounin." He imitated the Jounin's lazy talking as he raised his hand in a greeting. "Yo Genma!"

The moment the ninja known as Genma greeted him back he knew he was safe. He had done right into transforming into his old teacher.

"Didn't expect you back so soon, finished early I see."

"Maah, it wasn't that hard of a mission." Sasuke played along. "I'm in a hurry do you mind letting me pass?"

"Of course not. Welcome back. I take it you're going to meet up with him now, am I right?"

Confused of what the other meant, Sasuke mentally frowned but his outer expression didn't change. "Am I that easy to read?" He spoke with sarcasm.

"We all know who wears the pants between you two." Genma laughed together with the guy beside him.

Sasuke refrained from answering as he just passed through the two ninjas. He had other things to do than stand around impersonating his old sensei and making small talk. "Ja!" He called over his shoulder before leaving.

The guards waved and they disappeared as Sasuke continued further inside the town. Now all he had to do was to cross it without making his presence known in case someone would recognize him as the ninja he pretended to be. It would be troublesome if someone like Naruto would confront him and start asking questions, because he had no chance to fool them as he knew nothing of the ninja's current status.

He had already made half way through town before he encountered a familiar face, he had taken backside alleys as long as he could but being in the center of the town where life was as busiest it was impossible to continue masking his presence. His eyes accidentally met the eyes of his old academy teacher but knowing the two weren't close he continued as if nothing had happened.

Unfortunate for him, the other man didn't treat him mutually back as he heard him call his name over the crowd of people. "Kakashi-san!"

Sasuke cursed at his bad luck. His shoulders grew tense as he spun around and greeted the man happily. "Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka came to a halt once he was closer and gave him a weird look. "Sensei?" Sasuke could tell by the brown eyes he had said something wrong but whatever the man was thinking he never voiced his troubles. "I thought you said you weren't coming back until Thursday. That's two more days. Why are you back so early?"

Feeling his eyebrow twitch from confusion, Sasuke quickly put a hand behind his head and scratched nervously. Another habit he knew his old sensei had. "Finished quickly?" He offered hoping the other would accept it as the two ninja guards before him had.

But apparently good luck had chosen to abandon him at that moment as the sensei wasn't satisfied. "I thought you said you were going on a five days scouting trip to rock country?"

"Maah Iruka-se-san."

"San? You're acting weird Kakashi-san. Did something happen to you during your mission? You never call me by any of those… You always say… you know… chan." Watching the older man's face turn red Sasuke suddenly felt very surprised yet slightly disturbed. Kakashi called Iruka _chan_? Exactly how did these two people know each other? '_That_ much can't happen during only a year, can it?' Sasuke questioned confused.

"Anyway… Do you want me to follow you to the hospital? I know you don't like it there but maybe if I go with you…?"

Annoyed by the unexpected events, Sasuke knew his time was short thus didn't have the time to do useless chitchat. Without hesitation he hit the man at a pressure point.

"Wha-" Iruka began but never had the time to finish as his legs buckled under his weight and his world turned black.

"Troublesome." He muttered before sending a last glance at the body and then continuing to his set destination. He quickened his speed so to reduce the risk of meeting yet another familiar face.

He soon found himself standing outside the house he hated; the cursed Uchiha house. A wind blew from behind as if pushing him to enter the house. He took the few steps up the stair and twisted the door knob.

The quietness was the first thing he noticed; it was the same which had haunted the house ever since the slaughter. Entering further inside the house, the second thing he noticed was how everything was exactly as he had left it a year ago. All the furniture was still in order; only the heavy layer of dust revealed that there were no current residents.

His feet walked the familiar path through the house out to the front porch. Gazing out over the overgrown backyard a memory of when he and Itachi had played tag played in front of his eyes. They were both laughing as Itachi was trying to catch him.

Shaking his head to rid himself of the memory, what remained was nothing but the overgrown bushes. A too familiar feeling made itself known and his heart contracted painfully. Remembering what his true intentions of visiting the house was Sasuke continued walking. He crossed the lawn and downhill until he came to the Uchiha graveyard.

Kneeling to the ground beside one of the bigger tombs, Sasuke subconsciously started cleaning it from twigs and weeds. "Chichi, Haha."

**Xx**

Naruto felt restless. He had been back in the village barely 15 minutes and already he yearned to leave it. He was currently walking through town with no real destination in mind, kicking at the gravel beneath his feet. He knew he was supposed to put together a mission report which was due in five hours but motivation for the task was absent. A mission report for something as simple as assisting a lord always felt so useless. What information about that could possibly be interesting or even considered as useful? Nah, he would put it on hold. The hokage would have his head but what would that matter. Without Sasuke nothing mattered.

He let out a sigh of exasperation as his fists balled up in his pants pockets. Something inside of him was itching but he had no clue to why. 'Maybe all I need is a smoke.' He thought bitterly deep down knowing that wasn't the case, but still he lightened one in false hope. He inhaled deeply, feeling his lungs fill up with something heavier than oxygen. His shoulders grew less tense but the itching lingered. "Damn." He cursed out loud and gave the cig a sour look.

"I see you still haven't broken that bad habit yet, ne?" A voice behind him distinguished itself throughout the crowd of people surrounding him.

He never had to turn to know who it was. "Sakura." He commented inhaling another puff of smoke in slight tease. "What bad habit?"

"You know very well what I mean idiot." Sakura shot him a playful glare before taking a seat next to him. "It's been a long time." Sakura continued, her eyes spacing out for a bit as something akin to a heavy sigh left her lips.

Naruto gave her the gentlest of smiles he could muster as he nodded his consent. "I guess." It was not like he had avoided the girl on purpose - though it didn't exactly hurt since the girl always managed to make him feel bad. He had simply been busy. Sasuke was his number one priority; he could not afford wasted moments if he wanted Sasuke to acknowledge him.

"I miss you…" Sakura surprised him by saying after a long time in silence. Her eyes looked up from the ground, a slight crease in her brow. "Naruto…" She began but Naruto was fast to cut her off; already too familiar with the undertone in her voice.

"Sakura I already know what you're about to say." His eyes hardened as he gained control of his emotions. "Please don't…"

"No I have to say this." She pressed, her face taking on a sad look.

'I'd rather you not' Naruto thought with a sigh but nodded nonetheless. That look on her face could mean nothing but trouble.

"I think you should stop chasing after Sasuke." Sakura stated; her voice slightly uneven. Naruto opened his mouth to object but was quickly hushed by her hand. "Please let me finish…

"I know how much you love him, and I do too but enough is enough Naruto… You can't keep living like this. This last year you've changed so much.

I've watched you grow since we were in the academy; you've gone from a prankster to a strong, dependable man, but this last year you've become like a stranger Naruto. You don't need Sasuke. Believe me I wish I didn't have to say this Naruto, but I must. Your obsession to Sasuke's not healthy."

"That's your opinion Sakura." Naruto grunted as anger started building in his chest. Who was she to say what Sasuke meant to him? What Sasuke and he had was something special. He wasn't just his best friend; he was the source of his strength. When they had been kids Naruto had hated but also admired Sasuke because his powerful appearance; they had became rivals and together they pushed each other to grow stronger. Without Sasuke he was nothing, without Sasuke's help he would still have been nothing more but 'the demon'.

Sakura had no right to tell him he should give Sasuke up. "This is stupid." He snapped and quickly got up on his feet. Flipping away the cigarette he started walking away but not sooner than a few steps a sudden pain filled his chest and he fell to the ground, gripping at his heart.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelped as she hurried to his side to help him. "Naruto what's happening?" She cried as the blond started coughing violently.

Naruto gasped for breath as his lungs contracted painfully from no oxygen. 'Not now.' He thought as he felt Sakura's arms fall around him. 'Not with her…' He squeezed his eyes together in a try to regain the control of his breath, knowing the girl would only start asking questions.

It felt as if something was caught in his throat as he desperately tried to cough it up. He put two fingers inside his mouth and pushed them the farthest back they would go until he felt the reflex to gag. A fluid pushed past his lips and eventually his breath evened out.

"Naruto!" He heard Sakura say terrified.

Already knowing what caused her reaction, Naruto opened his eyes and pushed the girl off of him. Standing on trembling legs he scowled at her. "It's nothing…"

"Nothing?" Sakura cried, startled by the blond's carefree reaction. "You just coughed up blood!"

"It's none of your business Sakura, stay out of it."

"Naruto!" Sakura ran up to him and gripped her hand firmly around his wrist. "Coughing up blood is nothing to take frivolously! I don't care what you say or do. You're coming with me so I can do a check up on you _now_, or God as my witness I'll make you."

'I could take you down in seconds.' Naruto glared at her as he growled his frustration but nonetheless let himself be dragged off by the other. He knew Sakura would only go to Tsunade otherwise and that was a trip he more than rather avoided.

_/End Part Seven - and so it begins..._

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**A/N: **So I've been thinking of rewriting the whole story; to add to the plot holes and elaborate on some parts, but I thought I'd leave the final decision to you guys; whether you want the rewritten version now, or if you rather me complete the story and then rewrite it? Leave your interesting or creative responses in the comment section below.. *uuh* the review button... *cough* But thanks for reading Midori no Mori chapter seven, I'm hakudoushikawaiine and I approve reviews!

**So tell me guys; When do you think Naruto and Sasuke will finally get together?**

;)


	9. Poison

**Part Eight** -_ Poison_

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"I don't understand…" Sakura stared at the paper in front of her of which she'd written the outcome of Naruto's exam on. A tentative hand scratched her hair as she reread the results. The paper told her Naruto was in excellent condition except for his worn out body, he definitely needed some serious rest, but other than that he was healthy as a horse.

"What?" Naruto questioned a bit curious to Sakura's reaction of the results. Even though he was unwilling to admit it, he was curious about his condition. He wasn't stupid. He knew coughing blood was serious but it was a matter of priority and his health was second on his list; Sasuke being number one.

"Your test results are completely normal…" She muttered. She was happy about the results but at the same time it worried her. "Although, I'd advise some rest. Your body is completely worn out."

"That's for not listening to me." Naruto grunted in a mixture between satisfaction and annoyance. He stood from the couch, having earlier been led to the girl's house for the exam, and prepared to leave before the girl remembered their previous discussion.

However just as he was about to leave the room Sakura's voice stopped him in mid step. "Naruto about our previous discussion I wasn't finished."

"I told you we were finished." Naruto's voice grew tense. "You have no idea what you're talking about Sakura. I value your opinion but when it comes to Sasuke and me you're clueless."

"This is just what I was talking about before."

"What do you mean?"

"Your personality; you're not yourself anymore and you haven't been since last year."

"I haven't changed, only my priorities have." He barked at her though he knew it was a lie. Naruto was very much aware of his change in personality but that was the sacrifice he had made. His old self would never have managed doing the things he had done since joining the Anbu. The Naruto from before was dead and had been for a long time, nothing Sakura said would change that.

"It's painful watching you destroy yourself Naruto. Please I've already lost Sasuke don't make me lose you too." Her eyes adopted a pained look as the mood in the room turned grim.

"If you've given up hope about Sasuke don't consider yourself his friend; friends don't bale on each other just because times get tough." Naruto glared at her as anger filled his chest. How could Sakura so easily let go of Sasuke? How could she throw him away as if he was merely a faulty object? They had shared so much together yet the girl didn't even hesitate before throwing it away?

"Don't you dare make me the bad guy jerk!" Sakura glared back at Naruto, tears in her eyes as she walked up to the blond. "It wasn't I who packed up and left this village, _twice_. It wasn't I who tried to kill my best friend and it certainly wasn't me who left my friends behind without so much as an explanation to why I'd rather choose a life with a demon than with friends whose love isn't enough."

Naruto grit his teeth as his frustrations took the better of him. "That's easy for you to say, you've always lived your cherry pie life. You haven't felt the pain Sasuke and I have." Naruto bit back but Sakura's voice quickly overpowered his.

"Well that excuse doesn't cut it anymore! We offered him another life but he threw it right back in our faces. He chose to abandon us for revenge but I beg you Naruto; please don't abandon me too. You're only going to lose yourself in the process if you continue chasing after Sasuke.

"Can't you tell? If you look deep inside your heart you know what you're doing is wrong!"

"You're annoying." Naruto spoke, his voice as cold as his eyes.

Sakura fell quiet as the tears in her eyes eventually brimmed over. Her arms hung at her sides, fists clutched together.

The room fell in silence as they stared at each other. It wasn't until Naruto once again turned to leave that Sakura eventually whispered; "You're scaring me…"

Naruto stood, faced the other way, as he processed his friend's words. It was with much difficulty he ignored his want to comfort her as he stayed frozen to the spot on the floor. He wanted to leave, run, he hated the guilt he felt deep inside him. It was much easier to ignore when alone.

"I'm scared of what you've let yourself become Naruto… I've read some of your mission reports…They're horrible…"

"It's not-"

"The Naruto I know would never…" She struggled with the words, everything coming out through sobs as her face contorted in pain. "Gosh, children Naruto? You're not that kind of person. Please tell me you aren't that heartless, there has to be some kind of explanation!"

Naruto kept his gaze steeled as he battled the emotions Sakura stirred up. He already knew the things he did was horrible, he did not need for her to remind him about it. Memories plagued him wherever he went, whatever he did.

'**She doesn't understand.'** Naruto heard a voice from inside whisper.

'Kyuubi…'

'**How dare she judge you as if she knew everything?'**

'Stop it Kyuubi, she's just worried.'

'**She preaches about things she doesn't know, thinks she's better than us. We should teach her a lesson!'**

'NO! She's my friend-'

"**She wants you to give up on Sasuke. Everything you have done, everything you've sacrificed until now would be in vain. She's not your friend; she's nothing but a hindrance for you to reach your full potential kit."**

Naruto's shoulders tensed up as Kyuubi's powers clouded his judgment. A blanket of orange chakra slowly crawled over his body and his eyes turned red. Sakura watched in horror as Naruto's appearance started to change. "Naruto?" She called, her voice trembling.

With an ominous smile, Naruto turned around to face Sakura. "Guess again bitch.

"Little girls should watch their mouths; you shouldn't speak so freely of things you don't know." He spoke, making Sakura back away.

"Naruto?" She tried again as she searched cold eyes. "Please don't do this-"

But without warning Naruto charged forward and with one blow made Sakura fly back and collide with the wall behind her in a loud crash. He towered over her as he looked at her trembling form on the floor. He then aimed a fist at her face but she blocked it in the last second and jumped to the other side of the room.

"You're no match to me." Naruto laughed as he charged after her.

"Naruto you have to stop this! Can't you tell the fox has corrupted you!" Just as she finished her sentence Naruto's foot collided with her stomach and she toppled into the coffee table made of glass.

"I told you to watch your mouth…" Naruto glared at her as his eyes slowly turned back to his dull blue and the blanket of chakra faded from his body. Coming back to his full senses Naruto looked at the mess he had caused. Things lay broken on the floor as Sakura lay in front of him in a sea of broken glass.

He was at a loss of words; he had lost control and the fact scared him. 'What the fuck was that!' He mentally cried at the fox but Kyuubi stayed silent. He noticed Sakura started moving and all he could do was watch.

Sakura's body throbbed from pain as she felt as if she had been run over by a bulldozer. Her hand moved to check the back of her head as it felt as if she was bleeding, but upon checking she couldn't find a wound and so opened her eyes to stare into empty blue.

"Naruto." She groaned as she slowly sat up. Pulling a glass shard from her arm she then stood on trembling legs. Swaying back and forth they stared at each other for a long moment until Sakura hesitantly put her arms around Naruto's broad shoulders.

"Please Naruto. If not for me, then please do it for you. You can't keep living like this…"

**Xx**

Sasuke sighed and stole a last glance of the tombstones in the grave yard before turning around, his emotions tied into a tight knot. With defined steps he walked away, letting his feet choose his direction. But not sooner than a few steps his surroundings suddenly changed as the sky grew darker and the overgrown graveyard turned into grey rock. "Who is it?" He asked as he searched his surroundings, his body subconsciously adopting a defensive stance.

"You're here…" A voice spoke and a man suddenly took form from out the darkness.

Taking in the man's attire he immediately recognized the dark cloak with red clouds. "Itachi…" Sasuke's eyes widened as the name died from his lips. Losing his defensive stance he let his arms fall to his sides.

"What, no hot blooded attack?" Itachi asked surprised though he was smirking while he said it. "I see you must've grown little brother…"

"I'm not here to fight you…" Sasuke ignored his brother's remark and instead decided to cut to the chase. "I think…"

"We'll see about that…" Itachi voice was full of confidence as he tilted his head to the side to get a better look at his brother.

"Take me out of the genjutsu." Sasuke ordered, his lips pressed into a thin line as he glared, demanding, at his brother.

"Such confidence… I can't wait to crush it." Itachi mocked but complied and removed the genjutsu. "I'll be waiting." Slowly, the image of Itachi disappeared as the scenery around them turned back to normal.

Sasuke acted fast. He knew the other had to be close by for him to trap him in the mangekyou. He sent out a surge of chakra and through an electric pulse he found him. Itachi was moving at a rapid speed, he had to act fast if he wanted to catch up.

Sasuke's gaze glazed over as he prepared himself to meet Itachi. Even though he had come after his brother to find out the truth there was still a part of him that wanted his brother dead. His biggest dilemma was what he would do once they faced each other. Kicking off with an incredible force, the dirt under his feet cracked and he was off to pursue his brother.

/END PART EIGHT - Poison

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Thanks for any alerts/favorites/and reviews~


	10. A Brother's Love

**Part Nine **- _A Brother's Love_

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He sprang, pushing off from one branch to another as twigs whipped at his body. He had been following his brother for almost half an hour and was growing more frustrated by the second at why the other only had him chase him. Itachi wasn't a coward so why wouldn't he stop.

He continued chasing him but eventually he could tell he was catching up to Itachi when his presence became stronger. Pushing off a last branch, he landed with a soft thump on the ground. He had reached the end of the forest and was faced with the scenery of a valley. "Itachi!" He cried out, his frustration from the inane chase evident in his voice.

A dark cackle echoed off the rocky terrain and made Sasuke take on a defensive stance. Where was he? Activating his sharingan Sasuke searched the area. As if on cue, Itachi stepped out from behind a rocky wall, his face void from emotions. "Otouto…"

Sasuke's muscles stayed tense, his mind alert and ready if the other chose to attack, as his blood red eyes locked with that of his brother. In darkened silence, time passed slowly, both taking in the changes in each other.

So much had changed over the years they spent apart. Itachi looked old, tired, Sasuke noted and he himself wasn't any longer the weak boy from before. The tense silence agitated him why wouldn't Itachi say anything? It was difficult to tell what the other was thinking. Sasuke tried to make out his brother's feelings through his eyes but only found a well built wall; perfected already from an early age. He could never tell his brother's thoughts.

"I know about the truth." Sasuke whispered in hope to at least earn a reaction from his impassive brother. Normally Sasuke was good at concealing his impatient personality, but in front of his brother whatever restraints he had they crumbled faster than a dried up leaf.

However weather Itachi was surprised or not, Sasuke couldn't tell as Itachi's face remained frozen. "What do you see with that sharingan of yours?" Itachi eventually spoke up, his face still blank as he dismissed Sasuke's earlier statement.

Sasuke didn't answer. His eyebrows knit together, his mind confused. "What I see has little to do with this."

"That's where you're wrong Sasuke. It's what you see that matters the most." Itachi continued speaking in riddles making Sasuke more confused. "What are your feelings?"

"Cut the bull Itachi! I want answers."

"Still acting like a baby I see. Perhaps I have overestimated your potential." There were no more words after that. Without warning Itachi charged forward with an incredible speed. He aimed a kunai he kept hidden in his sleeve at Sasuke's throat but Sasuke deflected it, his instincts kicking in.

Grabbing Kusanagi behind his back the swords collided in a loud clash. After that they moved deeper inside the valley, over bulky ground as their blades continued to exchange hits. Using his free hand, Itachi formed seals and created a ball of fire which Sasuke was quick to avoid by doing a back flip and jump to the side. Charging forward Sasuke swung his blade at Itachi only to have it deflected. Gathering chakra to his leg he thrust it at Itachi and connected with his ribcage, however in the mean while Itachi grabbed his foot and threw him backwards.

"Is that all you got, otouto?" Itachi mocked and ran up to him throwing a blow at Sasuke's face. Sasuke staggered further back and grit his teeth. Recovering quickly from the blow, Sasuke thrust his leg in an attack which was quickly blocked, but he was already prepared to launch another attack as chidori collected in his hand and he aimed his fist at the others heart.

Itachi leaped to the side, dodging the attack in the process and pulled a kunai with an explosive tag tied to it and threw it at the ground before Sasuke.

Sasuke escaped the explosion and took that as a chance to pull out shuriken from his hip holster. Throwing the stars they were quickly deflected by Itachi's own and the two charged at each other again. Swinging Kusanagi at Itachi, Itachi deflected the blade and forced it into the ground. Using the blade to his advantage he stepped on the handle and spun his foot in a thrust at Sasuke's head. Sasuke pulled down and used Kusanagi as help to do a twirl and in the meantime pulling the sword with him. But during that second, Itachi managed to land a forceful blow to his head, throwing Sasuke to the ground. Hard.

Feeling his breath knocked out of him, Sasuke was trapped under his brother's body as Itachi crouched over him, a kunai to Sasuke's throat.

Itachi was smiling and his eyes shone of satisfaction Sasuke realized as he tried to regain his focus. "Why?" He mouthed in a confused haze. Why was Itachi acting like this? Sasuke knew about the truth, his brother hadn't killed their parents on free will. He didn't have to do this.

"Why you ask foolish little brother? To test my strength of course." Itachi's voice was so clear, so mocking. It made Sasuke want to claw that smirk off his lips.

"I know what they made you do! I know all about the lies." Sasuke grunted out while feeling the blade at his throat dig further into his skin as he talked.

"There are no lies, otouto, only the truth. You have to accept that."

Having regained the control over his breath, Sasuke summoned a chidori and distracted Itachi long enough to throw the kunai to the side. He put all strength to his feet and pushed himself up wobbling backwards in the process. Clutching his throat with his hand he bore his eyes into Itachi's. He tried to suppress the sudden wave of emotions that crashed over him. His brother wasn't making it easy, his attitude cocky and moth spouting lies. Itachi's actions made Sasuke want to hate him, but at the same time his heart told him otherwise. A part of him still wanted to believe in the good older brother from the past.

"Shut up! Just tell me. I need to know the truth! I want the truth!" Sasuke cried out.

"What is it you want to hear, otouto? I killed our parents. I murdered our clan."

"It wasn't your fault… It wasn't your choice!"

"It is true I received the mission from Danzo but that doesn't change the fact I am the one who pierced our parents' hearts with a sword. I was the one who stared into our mother's eyes as she was begging for a reason before I sliced her open..."

Sasuke stared in horror as Itachi seemed to relive the scene; his smirk growing bigger from what he only could read as pleasure. The sight disgusted him as Sasuke's last hope about an innocent brother crumbled down. In a moment of blind rage he lunged forward; Kusanagi raised in attack. "You piece of shit!" Sasuke was filled with so much hatred. The darkness within bubbled thickly, drenching his heart's voice. He hadn't come there to kill him in the first place, he had hoped, after knowing the truth, Itachi would do something. What he had been unsure of but just anything. But he had been too naive. Even though knowing the truth, Itachi still turned out a monster. Itachi couldn't change, he was and would forever be; a murderer. Because of that… he had to die.

"Finally you're getting serious." He heard Itachi say but cared him no thought as he prepared to go in for the kill. 'This is the end.'

Hurling kusanagi's blade at Itachi, the brunet dodged the attack with ease and thrust his fist at Sasuke who deflected the blow with his free hand. Putting a small distance between them, Sasuke plunged his fist into the ground and caused a chain of chidori tear through the rock solid ground and up Itachi's feet. In one swift movement he charged ahead and plunged his sword through the older man's chest.

He watched a small string of blood escape through his brother's lips but at that moment knew something was wrong. It had been too easy. He watched the man raise his hand and point to the side as the body dissolved into crows. 'A genjutsu?' Sasuke hid his surprise and sent a glare his brother's way. "Are you that much of a coward?"

Itachi only smirked. "You've grown stronger…."

"I had to. Mother and father deserve justice; they deserve revenge." Sasuke defended; his face a mask void of emotion.

"It's time to end this once and for all. Do you think you can kill me?" Itachi was mocking him again he could tell and it only fed to his anger.

"Try me and I will."

"Perhaps you can kill a bunshin but you don't stand a chance against me. Your life's dream will remain as it is, all the way to the end."

Sasuke's gaze wavered away for a second, his mind relieving the past. Pictures of their parents, Itachi's blood covered body and eventually from the time after the third hokage's death. _"Do you know why you're so weak? It's because… you lack hatred."_ The words from that last time echoed inside his mind, his anger intensifying even more. Perhaps back then he hadn't been ready but this time... he was.

He shook off his shirt, to reveal bandaged arms. Loosening the binding he revealed two seal marks. "You once said I lack hatred…" He whispered as his eyes went back to stare deep into the other's. "But this time… My hatred for you will be your death and make my dream, reality."

A moment passed by, a silence of mutual understanding and then the fight began once again. Sasuke's hands went to touch his seals at his wrists and shuriken appeared. He hurled them at an incredible speed as Itachi mirrored his move. It became a battle of shuriken as the air around them turned black from the rapidly moving shuriken. Moving closer to each other for each shuriken they tossed, they eventually met in the middle, kunai clashed together. From behind Itachi a bunshin appeared from nowhere and made Sasuke jump back to avoid the kick thrown at him. Placing one of his feet over a shuriken on the ground, he spun around and hurled it at the clone, making it disappear in a puff of smoke.

Sensing another bunshin on its way, Sasuke activated his cursed seal and a snake's head launched out attacking the clone as he lurched against the original with a large shuriken. Throwing it he connected his chidori to it and used it to whip it in the direction Itachi dodged it. Colliding, the body split in two but then disappeared in another puff of smoke. Cursing Sasuke turned around just in time to avoid the leg aimed at him.

Itachi had the advantage and before Sasuke had even time to realize what was happening he was thrown into a stone wall, his body creating multiple cracks in the rock. His back hurt. So much. He grasped for breath when Itachi forced his head to title it upwards.

"I'm sorry Sasuke…" Itachi mumbled but the blood was pumping too heavily in Sasuke's ears and he found it hard to hear. Instead he tried to read the other's eyes as Itachi's hand moved from hanging limply at the side to hover in front of his eyes. "These belong to me now…"

Sasuke let out an earsplitting scream as Itachi's finger's dug into his socket and pulled his eye out. What the fuck was happening. Why was he taking his eye? The pain. Fuck, the pain. It was too much. It hurt so much.

He yanked one of his hands free from where Itachi held them trapped. Clutching at where his left eye should be, this time he only touched a whole; dripping with blood. He gazed down at his hand, watching the pool of blood that had gathered in the dip of his hand with horror filled eyes.

"Now for the other eye…" He heard Itachi say in the distance and this had him moving once again. Glaring at his brother the cursed seal on his shoulder activated and started covering his body. Letting out a growl he gathered chakra to his hand and pushed the older man off him.

Jumping back, Itachi held the eye in his palm. Staring at it for a second he then clenched his fist around it. He sprinted back up to Sasuke and got behind him, hooking his arm around the younger's throat and then tightened his hold. "Let this be your last thing you see, me taking away your whole reason for existence."

Sasuke stood frozen, locked to the spot with the mangekyou. All he could do was watch as the hand in front of him came closer. It couldn't end like this. Was he really this weak? Sasuke was hit by an unknown feeling and with newfound strength he started fighting the technique. He wouldn't let Itachi win. He had made a promise to their parents he'd avenge them.

As if by a miracle Sasuke's hand-shaped wings shot out of his back and warded off Itachi's hand. Using his head, he jerked his head to the side, colliding with Itachi. Stunned, Itachi stumbled away, creating a distance between them.

Itachi clutched his fist tighter together around the eye but realized quickly it was gone. Shooting a look at Sasuke he caught him in the last second to see him put the eye back in its former socket and so the illusion crumbled.

"How did you…" Itachi panted, genuinely stunned by the other's speed and physical strength. "You escaped my illusion."

However Sasuke didn't answer, instead he summoned another pair of giant shuriken and wasted no second as he hurled them at Itachi.

Itachi leaped into the air, effectively dodging both and charged at Sasuke with shuriken. Sasuke waded off the attack with his hand and pulled at the strings he had previously attached to the giant shuriken and the shuriken came hurling back towards Itachi.

Realizing the large shuriken were on their way back Itachi jumped to avoid them but was trapped by Sasuke summoning and throwing a third shuriken. The shuriken dug into Itachi's side as he wobbled back in a small retreat. His vision was blurry; his sickness getting the better of him. Itachi clutched at his right temple as he used his other hand to pull out the shuriken from his body.

"What's wrong? Are you going to roll over and die from just that?" Sasuke taunted; his voice filled with arrogance. Not waiting for a reply, Sasuke started forming seals and his cheeks blew up as he inhaled as deep as he could.

Itachi watched his little brother and realized what move he was preparing and thus used his speed to mimic him. "GOUKAKYUU NO JUTSU!" The words echoed between the valley walls as a huge ball of fire appeared in the middle between the brothers.

The fire burnt intensely as they kept each other in a lock, their fires burning just as strong. Concentrating more chakra to his mouth Sasuke's fire flared up to its double size.

Itachi realized he had to counter the attack as he felt his fire being consumed by Sasuke's. A single black tear fell from his face and a black fire engulfed the enormous fireball. Amaterasu… As the black fire eventually went out, Itachi focused his eyes on Sasuke.

Sasuke quickly ran, keeping all his attention on the trail of black fire that followed him. Feeling the heat intensify behind him he knew he had to think of something quick to avoid the fire. But just as he was about to make his move, Itachi keeled over and he fell to the ground on his knees. Sasuke threw a quick glance at him and realized his brother had his guard down. 'That's great…. Now I can make my move.'

Running to a stop, he slid along the rocky ground, making dust fly around him. Unleashing the cursed seal to its complete form, he put his hands in a seal. "Katon Gouryuuka no jutsu!"

A fire in the shape of a dragon rushed forward toward Itachi which barley dodged it by jumping to the side. The fire continued up to the sky and dissolved into the clouds.

Sasuke knew he was running low on chakra, his body was aching and he found it hard to stand on his legs. Panting harshly he muttered; "This will probably be my last jutsu…"

Itachi watched, waiting for the other's attack, wondering what the other was thinking. He knew the other had used up all his chakra, he could tell. "You've used all your chakra what more can you do?"

As a grin spread over his lips, Sasuke answered; "I know I used my last chakra on that last move… But don't think I wouldn't come here already prepared?

"Your life will soon be over… Aniki."

Sasuke turned his head to the sky, as clouds turned darker and a thunderous rumble echoed through the atmosphere. Rain started pouring heavily and lightning crackled, giving light to the valley.

"This attack is just like Amaterasu… It's impossible to escape." And with that said Sasuke summoned chidori to his hand, the blue thunder emitting a deafening sound of a thousand birds. He jumped out of the valley up on the highest top. "In essence this jutsu is just lightning. My role is to simply guide that power to you. I call it Kirin."

Multiple lightning gathered into the shape of a giant beast, the piercing shrill of thunder roaring loudly. "Die." Sasuke whispered and lowered his arm as the beast of thunder collided with earth and created a giant crater in the ground. Rocks flew everywhere as a sea of dust rose much like a wave over the valley. He watched as his attack destroyed the terrain, shaping it into an unrecognizable state.

When the dust eventually settled Sasuke quickly searched the remains of his destruction. His eyes widened upon watching his brother sprawled out over the rocky ground, his body lifeless. Had he done it? 'It's…over….'

Feeling his sharingan regress, his eyes drooped and he took a moment to catch his breath. It was over… Itachi was dead. Realizing what he had done, a strange feeling of remorse hit him. Sasuke's brow creased together. He knew he had done what was right... But how come he suddenly felt so shitty? He had had his doubts about the man's innocence but Itachi was and always had been an evil man. That much he had proved. He deserved death…

He started to turn away from the sight of his dead brother – unable to watch any longer – but in the last second he noticed something move in the edge of his eye. His eyes grew big as he watched Itachi stand up on shaky legs, his whole body trembling. 'He couldn't have…'

Gasping for breath, Itachi coughed. Blood dripped from his lips down his chin and eventually landing in a pool by his feet.

Sasuke watched the scene in front of him with horror as a giant skeleton took form from thin air; purple fire burning at its bones.

"You truly have become… strong otouto…" Itachi clutched at his stomach as his feet moved him slowly towards Sasuke.

Feeling too tired to move Sasuke could do nothing but stare in horror as his brother came closer to him. He was completely drained of chakra. In a futile attempt he touched at the seals on his wrists and a big shuriken appeared in a puff of smoke. Throwing it at his nearing brother it was deflected by the giant monster surrounding Itachi.

"It's no use Sasuke… Your dream ends here. Let me end your hatred." Coughing as he said so more blood seeped from Itachi's mouth and his hand went to clutch on his heart. Collapsing on one knee Itachi tried to gather as much strength to his legs as he could. 'Not yet…' he thought.

Sasuke summoned more shuriken and started hurling them at the other but everything was deflected by Itachi's impenetrable defense. 'Is he really gonna kill me?' Sasuke thought when Itachi came even closer. His brother looked like a total mess, more dead than alive. Sasuke knew he was close to winning if only Itachi hadn't had that defense.

Sasuke's feet subconsciously backed up until his back met a rocky wall. Emitting a sound close to a whimper he put all his last strength into a last attack and summoned a series of kunai attached with explosive tags and hurled them at Itachi, creating a big explosion. Charging forward with Kusanagi he tried to spear the ultimate defense but his blade only bounced off as he was thrown back, his back colliding with the wall once again.

Itachi was so close as his hand stretched out; hovering right in front of Sasuke's eyes. 'It can't end like this…' Sasuke thought, horrified, but could do nothing as all his strength had left his body and his legs were barely able to keep him up.

He stared into Itachi's dead eyes, scared, but without warning his eyes suddenly turned kinder, cold red eyes reverted back to their original black hue and his lips turned into a light curve. "Thank you…" The two words died from Itachi's lips as the hand in front of Sasuke's eyes changed direction and two fingers, the middle and index finger, touched his brow in a gentle poke, just like in the past.

Itachi pulled back his hand as his body fell forward, his legs toppling over under his weight. With a heavy thump, Itachi's body fell – lifeless – to the ground.

/END PART NINE_ A Brother's Love_

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* Yes some of you might've noticed this fight is based on scenes from the manga. I feel that their fight was so well done that it would be rude to change it too much.

Thanks for reading! And thanks to those whom reviewed; Much love to you guys!


	11. Visitor

_Unbeta-ed_

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**Part Ten** _- Visitor_

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The rain poured heavy that night when Naruto sat by the kitchen table slurping down a coup of instant Ramen. Ever since his visit at Sakura's, a strange feeling had settled inside his stomach, making him feel queasy. Never had it taken this long to eat a cup of noodles, Naruto thought a bit bothered and pushed it to the side suddenly not hungry anymore.

Catching a glance of his hands he held them in front of him. A light tremble ran through his fingers as the memory of pushing Sakura came to his mind. He turned them, as if searching for some kind of construction flaw and frowned once he couldn't find anything. It scared him that he had lost his temper so easily. All she did was care for him but as thanks he lashed out on her. He had hurt her...

Thinking back he realized he wasn't even that angry at the girl. Had he only cooled his head nothing would have happened but the fox had riled him up and thus he lashed out.

His brow creased in a frown. Had he really gone too far? Was Sakura right when she said the fox was clouding his judgment? Losing his old self had been the prize he had willingly paid to reach Sasuke, because he loved him in the sense he would die for him; kill for him, and so he had. However, if by losing himself meant he had to hurt his family he wasn't too sure he could do it anymore. Though Sasuke meant the world to him, even more than his own life, when it came to the bottom of it all; Naruto knew deep in his heart he couldn't choose which one was most important because he treasured both just as much.

By shoving Sakura – causing her to bleed – he had crossed the final line. However surprisingly he didn't feel victory, nowhere near complete. All he felt was emptiness and self-disgust; he was all but a shell of the person he used to be; so cold, not even the love he felt for Sasuke could warm him up.

The more he thought about it, the more confused he got. Had the last year been all in vain if he chose his family? All the things he had _done_, the people he had _killed_. Everything he had sacrificed for the sake of being with Sasuke; was he supposed to just throw that away?

If he chose Sasuke the very last bonds he had, and still cherished, was impossible to keep. He had to crush his loved ones in order to become nothing. Only once he become nothing was he worthy Sasuke's acknowledgement. However, to give up the last bonds he had fought so hard to gain what would that make him? Nothing but an empty shell… That was not the same as losing himself.

From deep inside its cage Kyuubi roared loudly, trying his best to catch Naruto's attention but this time Naruto was determined not to let the fox cloud his judgment thus he merely ignored it. He knew he had to keep his head clear in order to make the right decision, whatever that decision was.

However, not many seconds passed until he was pulled from his thoughts by a sudden bang on his door. Naruto scowled and swiftly stood from his seat. He moved slowly to the hallway dragging his feet behind him as he wondered who it was this time that had decided to bother him. He passed the hallway mirror noticing his scruffy looks and lack of clothes but decided he couldn't care less about his appearance and so reluctantly opened the front door.

Preparing to tell whoever it was off Naruto fell quiet as soon as he recognized the person in front of him. His mouth moved much like a fish on dry land until finally – pathetically – uttering the few syllables of the stranger's name; "Sa-s'ke."

_What the fuck_ was the three words echoing in his mind as he stared at the brunet with his mouth hanging open in a silent o. Questions were born as of why the other was by his doorstep, why was his clothes all disheveled and his face all messed up? Had he decided to come back on his own? Though the questions grew by the second they wouldn't leave his mouth, Naruto tried his hardest but his lips remained frozen.

Sasuke didn't show any sign of recognition as he stood, frozen, in front of him. A minute passed in silence before Naruto eventually held out his hand a gesture of insecurity yet welcome. However Sasuke remained quiet, his eyes glazed over by a white fog. Naruto was just about to open his mouth to speak again when he realized Sasuke was about to topple over as his knees started shaking.

Catching him in his fall, Naruto froze. "Naruto." Called a small voice as Sasuke's body started shaking uncontrollably.

Blue eyes widened once he realized the other was crying. Sasuke, crying, against his shoulder… There was something seriously wrong with that picture. But just as soon as the brunet had started crying he stopped.

Naruto frowned when Sasuke pushed off of him, separating them by merely an inch. What was the boy doing? They spent a moment in complete silence just staring into each other's eyes. Naruto tried to read the darkness within Sasuke but was interrupted by Sasuke leaning up and touching his lips.

Feeling his eyes widen a fraction Naruto stared shocked at the other. What the hell-

Sasuke had his eyes closed. Traces of tears stained his cheeks as he breathed calmly against Naruto's face remaining stagnant as if he was sleeping but Naruto knew better and so he took hold of Sasuke's arms and separated them both. "Sasuke wha-" Naruto began but Sasuke was quick to quiet him down.

"No questions… please." Sasuke wore a tortured face as if it pained him to speak as he let his head fall against the blond's naked chest. It took a moment for Naruto to realize what was happening but as he finally caught up he suddenly didn't need to know why Sasuke was back. He realized that all that mattered was that the brunet was there, in his arms.

Naruto didn't let many seconds pass until he tilted Sasuke's face to meet his and then clasped their lips together.

The kiss started out slow as Naruto tested his limits, not quite sure of what it was Sasuke wanted, but as the brunet met his advances with what could only be viewed as a certain neediness Naruto pushed them further and led them to a passionate battle of dominance.

Surprisingly enough Sasuke put up little struggle when Naruto forced his tongue between his plump lips to savor the memorized taste of an unique sweetness. However, as he devoured the other's mouth all he tasted was the metallic taste that came from blood, knowing the brunet wouldn't answer even if he asked Naruto only pulled Sasuke closer - the need to protect him flaring up, and started leading them to his bedroom.

They moved clumsily through the apartment, knocking over different things on the way but none of that mattered as both were too occupied by devouring each other's mouths. They hit the bed with a loud crash and in the back of his mind Naruto realized it was the bed that had broken down but left it at that and instead focused on getting them both into a more comfortable position.

They fought inside a desperate kiss, undiscovered feelings pushing their way forward as flesh met flesh. It was as if they were on fire, the passion was so intense it left their bodies burning heatedly. Sweat dripped along their bodies when Naruto decided to take them a step further. He moved his free hand tentatively to tug on the hem of the brunet's shirt removing it gently and leisurely from Sasuke's body savoring every inch of the revealed skin.

Sasuke's skin was a spellbinding pale it was the fairest he had ever seen. Be it man or woman. It was soft to the touch yet hid strong, defined muscles behind a frail form. He adopted a tiny crease of worry in his brow when his eyes fell over the huge bruises dotting the body and spent a short second to take note that the other had been in a fight. And apparently, it had been a bad one. He wondered with whom.

He traced his fingers down Sasuke's chest –avoiding the bruised areas – only to stop once they touched the hem of the boy's boxers. The skin felt wonderful against his calloused finger tips, leaving a tingling sensation as Sasuke drew a deep breath.

Sasuke gasped and twined his fingers into blond locks. Twisting around and tugging at the strands as Naruto's hands continued to explore his body he shivered from the pleasure that coursed through him. Nothing inside of him protested as he laid under the blond allowing himself to be dominated. At that moment all he wanted was to forget about everything and just let someone else decide the pace. He was tired of always feeling as if the world rested on the top of his shoulders. He was tired of always having to deal with the pain his actions gave him. That nothing he ever did seemed right.**  
**

"Sasuke" Naruto whispered concerned once he noticed Sasuke slowly disappear behind his eyes. Aforementioned jerked back from his thoughts but remained silent as he locked eyes with the blond and for once poured every emotion he felt at that moment into his eyes.

Holding their eye contact firm Naruto ground against Sasuke's lower regions, earning a throaty moan from the man under him. Enjoying the sound the other made Naruto decided he wanted more of them. He reluctantly broke their eyes' connection and started on a trail of light kisses along the brunet's jawline down to his nape. The taste of sweat and something sweet sent him off to experience a rare high he could only describe as Sasuke and suddenly he was filled with the instinct to mark his prey. Naruto gave in to his animalistic instincts and bit down hard, causing Sasuke to flinch yet hiss from pleasure.

Sasuke's one hand tugged at the back hair of Naruto's neck as the other gripped tightly at the sheets under him. The pain took him to a new level of intensity. It was as if suddenly everything was so clear, so _raw._ His toes curled when Naruto eased his bite to lap at the blood that seeped from the wound and that's when he knew he wanted – no, _needed_ - more of that pain.

Feeling the brunet soften under him Naruto chuckled – his voice husky against pale skin and in turn caused small vibrations to dance across the boy's skin in waves. Sasuke whimpered for the umpteenth time as he grinded his groin against Naruto to relieve his growing erection.

Moaning at the sudden touch against his own growing need, Naruto moved his hands to unbuckle Sasuke's pants. He placed a hand on Sasuke's hips to hold them down as he started stroking him through the boxers feeling precum wet through the thin fabric.

Sasuke hissed from the rough feeling from the textile and urged him on by bucking his hips encouragingly.

Continuing his advances, Naruto rid Sasuke of his boxers and threw them to the side, relishing in the rare view. From there everything passed by in a heap of burning touches and pleasurable moans. Naruto grasped their cocks tightly, giving them a squeeze and grinded them together. Feeling his hand wet from their precrum he used his one hand to circle Sasuke's entrance before plunging it inside with force.

Sasuke tightened around his finger as he continued to swallow him up. Naruto searched Sasuke's lips and trapped them in a long kiss but Sasuke fought his way out from it and removed Naruto's hand from his arse. "I don't want that." He said and nudged his entrance against Naruto's member.

"It's gonna hurt." Naruto said not too fond of the idea of hurting his friend.

"Then abuse me until there's nothing left of me." Sasuke hissed and pushed Naruto onto his back so he straddled his waist. Naruto never had time to react before Sasuke penetrated himself on his member.

The tightness from Sasuke's insides burned at him as he was forced out of Sasuke only to plunge back in a second later. Feeling a hot liquid trickle down his shaft he knew it was blood. He glanced at Sasuke's face wondering what the brunet was thinking, why he wanted him to hurt him but realized it was contorted in pain. He didn't want to hurt him.

Frowning, he sat back up and grabbed Sasuke by the hips. Rolling his hips he adjusted himself inside the tight hole and then trusted more gently. Sasuke groaned through a scowl. "Nngh harder"

"I don't want to hurt you." Naruto said and slowed his trusts to a stop.

Sasuke growled through clenched teeth and urged Naruto on by bucking his hips. "Give it to me." He spoke his voice cold and eyes hard.

"Why?" Naruto dared to ask as he didn't see a point in further hurting the other. Deeming by the bruises that covered the boy's body he should've been in a hospital. However, Sasuke only answered by punching Naruto's face, his fist clenched tightly together.

"Bastard!" Naruto growled and nursed at his hurt cheek. "What the fuck is wrong with you!" He demanded but was only awarded with another punch. Knowing something was wrong with the brunet he tried his hardest to control his anger but it was hard as Sasuke started going at him with multiple blows.

"I told you to hurt me!" Sasuke roared and kicked Naruto hard in the stomach so that he flew off the bed.

"I said I don't want to hurt you!" Naruto barked and stood up then advanced back to the bed. He glared at Sasuke, wondering why the boy had suddenly gone completely bipolar. It was as if he had changed personality from one second to another.

"Weak…" Sasuke muttered and then looked up to meet Naruto's glare with one of his own. "You've always been weak. You're nothing but a loser host of a demon not worthy of the powers given to you. You're nothing! Nothing!" He screamed.

Feeling his last string of control break Naruto lounged at Sasuke. "Just because I said I don't want to hurt you doesn't mean I won't." He threw a fist at Sasuke's face and growled satisfied when it connected with a loud clash.

Sasuke nursed his sore spot and gave away an empty laugh which momentarily stopped Naruto from landing another punch and thus left a spot open for Sasuke to attack.

Naruto staggered back and once again was attacked by Sasuke but this time was ready and so blocked it. He ducked and swung his leg under Sasuke and tripped him to the floor. Knowing Sasuke should've been able to avoid it Naruto gave him a questioning look but Sasuke was quick on his feet and ready to attack again. Naruto crashed into the wall and without wasting a second Sasuke pounced on him.

Pushed up against the wall and locked between Sasuke's arms Naruto hesitated and waited for Sasuke's next move but was surprised when he instead pushed their mouths together and pressed up against him.

Answering with just as much heat and passion Naruto pushed his tongue inside Sasuke's mouth and with help from Sasuke lifted him off the floor and locked his legs around his hips.

Pushing off the wall they fell into the wardrobe with a crack and then continued their fall to the floor. Too caught up in the fierce tension to care, Naruto growled and penetrated Sasuke with a forceful trust. The entrance was slick from blood and so he went in easily hitting the spot inside Sasuke that sent both of them to a whole new level of passion.

Sasuke arched his back under Naruto's rough body and clawed at the skin on the boy's back, his nails cutting into the skin like razors drawing trails of blood.

The sex was rough, violent and intense. A whole year of anger, frustration and longing was put into their passionate act as they moved over the floor destroying whatever item came in their way. The room looked like a battlefield as they danced across it, forgetting about everything and anything but each other.

Hours later the air lay heavy, tainted by sweat and the smell of sex as the room eventually turned quiet, nothing but soft pants breaking its silence.

Naruto laid on the floor, every limb in his body sore. He glanced at Sasuke next to him to see what state he was in but realized the other had already dozed off. Watching the easy breathing of his friend, he was reminded of his own tiredness and slowly lulled to sleep but before giving in to the darkness that came with sleep, he used his last strength as he removed a wild strand of hair from the other's eyes and put his arm around the bruised body. He gave it a gentle squeeze and then dozed off uttering a whispered "Bastard…" between battered lips. It felt like a dream to have Sasuke back in his arms.

/END PART TEN _Visitor_

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**AN:** Sasuke's point of view will be told next time so no worries! Even though you might feel confused now it will hopefully be explained next time. I wrote half of this chapter two months ago and then finished it when I was on vacation in Spain, so I'm sorry if it's a bit messed up.. Hmm I hope you'll like it though. It was fun writing it.

Please review!


	12. Our Damned future

_Special thanks to takuya_, _Dragon 77_ and _Through Darkness and Light for reviewing! You guys rock!_

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**Part Eleven – **_Our Damned future_

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The next day Sasuke woke up disoriented in Naruto's room wondering for a split second where he was until remembering the night before. Like a puppy he had went to Naruto to seek out comfort. Groaning he wiped a bit of drool off his chin. The cold floor under him had left his back sore as if the bruises from yesterday hadn't been enough.

He wriggled out from Naruto's arms which were holding him loosely and started collecting his clothes. He couldn't stay there, he needed time to think. Searching for somewhere to escape the bedroom window caught his eye. His body ached as he forced it to move, climbing out and up on the rooftop he knew the fresh air would help him focus.

He settled down and gazed over the still sleeping town. He could tell by the rising sun the clock was still early, barely around five yet the air was still very hot.

When he thought back on yesterday his mood quickly turned grim. The memories from his fight with Itachi flashed before him as if watching a movie. A movie he'd much rather forget than remember.

Itachi was dead and now all there was left was a big black hole. A hole filled of sorrow, anger and regret. And it hurt. It felt as if he was bleeding through a wound that refused to close up.

It hadn't been his intention to fight Itachi that day. He hadn't meant to be blinded by rage but Itachi had pushed him so hard. It was as if he had wanted Sasuke to kill him. 'Just like Kisame said…'

_Flashback:_

_The body laid cold before him. How long since it had fallen? He couldn't tell. The ground beneath him dug into his knees but what did it matter? His legs had long gone numb from sitting in an upright position. Tears had dried up, merely stains on his cheeks. Why had this happened?_

_A twig snapping in two suddenly awoke him from his trance like state. Objecting muscles were pushed up and he prepared to attack whoever it was._

_A dark form came into the light and Sasuke recognized it as Kisame, Itachi's companion. Why was he there?_

_The blue man paid little interest to Sasuke's offensive pose instead he passed him only to stop beside Itachi's body and then stare. "Damn." Kisame eventually whispered. "I guess you got your wish." He then bent down, stroke a finger over the male's cold cheek and lifted the light body from the ground._

_Sasuke whom had been watching the scene in obscure astonishment finally reacted as he the man was about to leave with his brother's body. Like hell he was going to take it! _

"_Put him down or I'll kill you!" Sasuke wheezed through a dry throat directing deadly eyes towards the man. He knew he was no match to the other in his current state but that didn't mean he was just going to stand and let the other take his brother away!_

_Kisame only grinned as if his words had been a joke. "You couldn't kill Itachi what makes you think you could kill me?" The cocky look in his eyes made Sasuke grit his teeth. What made him say that when the proof was in his hands? _

"_He's dead isn't he?" The words stung at his heart as if it was penetrated by a knife. He hadn't meant for it to happen. It was an accident._

"_He might be dead but not by you-"_

_The words confused him as Sasuke strained to see if the man was lying. "What would you know?" Sasuke demanded._

"_Itachi was sick, had been for long. He's been clinging to life on a string the last few months, waiting for this moment to come. I guess this was it."_

_Sasuke frowned, unsure of what to believe. If Itachi had been sick people would've known. After all he was one of the most wanted men in the world. To hide such a secret should've been impossible. "Why would you know this?" Sasuke barked angry the other would tell him lies. "Itachi can't have been sick I would've known."_

"_Silly boy, there are no secrets between lovers."_

_Engrossed by the man's words Sasuke watched Kisame adopt a pained scowl. He looked from Itachi's body to Kisame and then back again. "… You were together?" He stammered but as the words left his lips he realized how silly they were._

"_Yes." Kisame simply replied not at all bothered by the mocking tone in Sasuke's voice._

"_Like hell I'd believe that."_

"_Why would I care what you believe?"_

"_Itachi couldn't love. He was nothing but a killer. He murdered our parents even his own girlfriend! Is that love to you?" He knew the words he was speaking were lies yet they wouldn't stop coming. Anger made the words pour out of him much like a verbal spew._

"_Ungrateful brat." Kisame hissed silencing Sasuke. "Itachi sacrificed his own happiness, his own life to protect you. You should show some gratitude."_

"_I wouldn't call trying to kill me protection." Sasuke snapped._

"_He did that for you." Kisame pressed._

"_He did it for me? He k-"_

"_Let me finish brat." Kisame roared and cut Sasuke off in the process. "Itachi lived only for you to get your revenge. I watched him suffer every day with his sickness. He accepted his destiny from day one and now so should you. Just go home. You've got what you came for."_

"_I came wanting answers! If he hadn't… he could've lived!"_

"_Kid he would've died anyway. Itachi wanted to die. Every day he lived with the knowledge he killed his own family. Does that sound like something you'd want to live with? Trust me, he wanted this. He wanted your hatred to end with him."_

"_But I could've-"_

"_What? Forgiven him?"_

_As Kisame stared at him his eyes filled with doubt Sasuke knew he was right. Though it had proved it wasn't all Itachi's fault he would've never been able to forgive him completely. Itachi had still carried out the mission but at least he didn't feel the same hatred and that was what pained him. Itachi had died in someone else's stead. He had carried so much pain for something he hadn't deserved… Only to protect him._

"_But why me? Didn't he think I'd know?"_

"_He wanted his death to be a blessing for you. He wanted to give you his powers and this was the only way. Right from the start till the end he did everything for you."_

"_Selfish…"_

"_Perhaps."_

_A short silence lingered as Sasuke tried his best to comprehend what the man was saying. It was hard to accept and there were still so many questions unanswered. "Where are you taking him?" Sasuke eventually questioned feeling more exhausted than he'd ever been._

"_I'm going to destroy his body. That's what he wanted."_

"_No you can't." Sasuke desperately objected. He wasn't prepared yet._

"_We have to. There are people who'd give anything to possess Itachi's body I can't leave it. I already told you go home. This is over now. Grant Itachi his last wish and just go home."_

_/end of flashback_

Now when his head was clearer he realized there was nothing in it for Kisame to lie to him so he had gradually accepted it as the truth. Itachi had sacrificed his own life for Sasuke's revenge and that knowledge alone made him angry. Itachi shouldn't have been the one to die that day it should've been the one responsible, it should've been Danzo.

If Itachi had thought Sasuke would've been satisfied with his death alone he had been a fool. Itachi's death did nothing for him other than pain him. He knew he had to do something. He had to honor Itachi's sacrifices. Realizing what he had to do his eyes turned cold. 'This is for you aniki.'

He had to make the rightful man pay for what he had done.

Xx

By the time Naruto woke up the sun shone strongly warming his face. He opened his eyes his vision blurry as memories of the night before returned to him. He threw a quick glance to his side but got disappointed upon noticing there was no one there. 'It was all a dream…' he sighed as he let his head fall back on the pillow with a heavy thud. Or what should've been the pillow. 'Ouch'

Touching the bed he realized it wasn't his bed but instead it was the floor. 'What a vivid dream.' Naruto thought slightly dazed. He sat up stretching his sore back and then took a moment to observe the room. It looked as if a tornado had passed through it.

Frowning he scratched the back of his head trying to figure out the origin of the mess but came up empty handed. The only cause which made sense was the dream but that had just been that, a dream.

Hadn't it? The more he moved around the stickier he felt. He looked down on his stomach only to see a dried white substance. He graced his fingers over it and realized what it was. "This is…" _semen _he finished in his thoughts. It hadn't been a dream, he and Sasuke had actually… His eyes grew wide as the truth dawned over him and he quickly sprung to his feet. Searching the apartment Sasuke was nowhere to be found. 'Like hell I'll let him leave again!' Naruto thought aggressively gritting his teeth.

Realizing the brunet wasn't in the apartment anymore Naruto quickly got dressed and then searched for Sasuke's chakra ready to pursue him. 'Hopefully he hasn't gotten far.' But to Naruto's surprise Sasuke's chakra was stronger than he had expected, in fact the brunet was close to him.

He threw a quick look around the room again, confused of where Sasuke could be but quickly realized the other's location as he caught sight of the window. "The roof…" He and Sasuke had spent many nights on that rooftop as children.

His heart raced as he climbed out the window immediately finding Sasuke where he had expected him to be. 'Thank god.'

"Hey." Naruto greeted Sasuke making the brunet look up at him.

Sasuke remained silent but gave him a greeting nod.

Unsure of what to say they fell into an awkward silence. "Crazy night yesterday huh." Naruto eventually said in a try to break the silence, his voice cool although eyes moved nervously back and forth.

"I'm sorry." Sasuke murmured and averted his eyes from Naruto's prying blue.

"Why are you apologizing?" Naruto questioned slightly surprised by the unexpected apology.

A short silence passed before Sasuke finally answered, "Everything I guess."

Confused by what the other meant Naruto chose to ignore him and instead decided to cut to the point. "Sasuke… What are you doing here?" He asked but quickly added "Not that I mind of course it's just… You left."

"I'chi… -ed."

"What?" Naruto leaned closer to hear the other's lowered voice.

"Itachi's dead." Sasuke repeated this time louder.

"What?" Naruto's eyes widened genuinely shocked. Itachi was dead? "How did it happen?" Naruto demanded afraid of what the answer would be. He knew something was wrong with Sasuke he could tell by just looking at him.

"I… I killed…"

That only confused Naruto more. Hadn't it been his dream? Sasuke had told him plenty of times so how come he wasn't happy? "That's… good isn't it?" Naruto fought with his words. He had never liked Sasuke's want to take out revenge, having believed it would only do more harm than good but Sasuke had never listened and so it was hard to call it 'good'.

"He shouldn't have… it wasn't his fault."

"It wasn't whose fault?" Naruto repeated getting tired of Sasuke's refuse to talk with real sentences. It would be much easier if he could just tell him straight out but as always when it came to Sasuke he had to squeeze the answers out of him.

"Itachi."

"Sasuke you're making no sense. What's not Itachi's fault? You killed him right? Wasn't that what you wanted?"

"I didn't want that!" Sasuke snapped surprising Naruto to silence. "I just wanted answers! He made me do it! It was him… Because of him… Because of me… But it wasn't my fault!"

"Sasuke you'll have to tell me everything if you want me to understand because right now your words tell me nothing, okay?"

Another silence fell over them before Sasuke broke it nodding as he did. "Okay…" And so he told Naruto everything; from the Uchiha massacre, about the mission and Itachi's reasons. It was the first time Naruto had ever watched Sasuke open up as he did at that moment. It was as if all the walls Sasuke usually held up had crumbled and left was the naked and exposed body of the boy that resided within.

Upon Sasuke finishing up his story Naruto found himself speechless. Everything he had known about Sasuke's past which wasn't a lot but enough had been turned upside down. Watching Sasuke he wondered for a second how the boy managed to hold it all together, how he hadn't broken down to a heap of crazy. "But what are you going to do now…? I mean if it's Danzo… He's an elder Sasuke."

"I know…"

"You can't…"

"I've already decided."

"But what about Itachi's wish? He wanted it to end with him didn't he? Sasuke please don't do it."

"Itachi was a fool if he thinks I'm just gonna let this be. That man has to pay! They all have to pay for Itachi's pain!"

"Does this mean what I think it does?" Naruto already knew the answer before asking, he just didn't want to accept it. If Sasuke decided to it he wasn't sure where his loyalty was anymore. He loved Sasuke to death but to put him before _them_? All his training, the things he had done… He would have to give it up. Sasuke had gone too far even for him. He could not help him in this not if it would cost him Konoha.

"I will go after Konoha. I won't rest until they have felt my revenge. This is for all they've done to Itachi! I can't accept such a disgusting act to go free. Danzo will die before my hands."

Naruto sighed. Why had it come to this?

"Do that Sasuke and… I will stop you."

Sasuke's eyes widened, his gaze confused as he searched blue eyes for an explanation. However, he found nothing. Naruto's face was a blank mask. "This village has to pay for our pain. Do you expect me to just stand back and leave it be?"

"If you go against Konoha, you go against me Sasuke. I love you I do, but I will not help you bring down Konoha. A year ago I decided to sacrifice everything if that meant for me to be together with you, I've killed people Sasuke. I've come to the point where I can't turn my back on the things I've done however, Konoha is the place I belong. It scares me to see you throw away all our memories together, the friends you have as if we mean nothing to you. I could never betray that."

"Why? What has it ever done to you other than treated you like crap? Have your friends ever helped you? They almost brought you to your own damn suicide. Are you that much of an idiot you call that friendship?"

Naruto smiled yet his eyes were filled with so much sadness s that Sasuke felt guilty meeting them. He quickly looked away.

"I gave a promise. I said I was gonna be Hokage and keeping my promises is my way of the ninja. I swore to make the villagers accept me and I'm not gonna give up until they all do. Even though Konoha might have brought me a lot of pain it has also given me many good moments. It brought me Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, Tsunade-baachan, Ero-sennin, Sakura-chan, my friends... It also brought me you. Konoha is my dream and I'll do everything to protect that."

"Then you're also my enemy."

"I guess..."

"I won't hold back."

"Neither will I."

A moment passed as they stared each other down, neither backing down from the challenge.

"Will you let me hold you one last time?"

"...dobe."

Moving closer to each other they enjoyed the bittersweet moment for what it was, neither saying anything just savoring the other's company…one last time.

/END PART ELEVEN _Our Damned Future_

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Phew! Another installment of MnM done! This time it was completed in Greece.

There's something about being abroad... It really helps my creativity ^o^

So I hope you enjoyed this as always, **please review**.

I always wanna know your opinions! o 3o;

that's all for now, tata~


	13. Brewing War

Thanks to those whom reviewed! Much love to you guys~

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**Part Twelve – **_Brewing war_

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By lunch Naruto had received orders to come to the Hokage tower. Sasuke had left hours ago but to where he wasn't sure, Sasuke refused to tell him. Their good bye had been one of the toughest moments in Naruto's life. The silence had been eerie as Sasuke had stood up from his arms and only smiled. A second later he had disappeared.

Next time they see each other, they would be enemies.

Standing outside the door leading to Tsunade, Naruto took a moment to calm himself. Pinching his nose he took a deep breath and stepped inside.

"Naruto reporting in." he said as he entered the stuff office, the smell of Tsunade's overused perfume strong to his senses.

"Aah, Naruto. There you are." Tsunade said and urged him to come closer. "Something wrong?" She questioned unexpectedly, throwing Naruto off for a slight second.

'She's perceptive…' He thought and immediately smiled to hide his discontent. "Not really. You have a mission for me lady?"

He could tell she wasn't satisfied with his answer but as she didn't press the subject any further Naruto couldn't care less. "Yes. It's just a scouting mission. Five days ago team Yoru set out on an infiltrate and terminate mission. Their return was expected two days ago and we haven't had any connection with them since Tuesday. That was three days ago.

The mission was fairly easy. It was only a weak security breach. There's no reason for their absence.

_So I want you to go search for them._ They took the southern way down the river bank and further down to River country. You'll leave immediately, no packing is needed. We'll be expecting you back with a report today. Are there any questions?" Tsunade finished off asking handing the mission scroll to Naruto.

Naruto shook his head no and accepted the mission scroll from Tsunade. "Thank you Hokage-sama!" He said and then left the room, but before disappearing behind the door he turned his head and spoke with a smirk. "Have a nice day, Tsunade baa-chan."

The door then clicked shut.

Inside the office Tsunade looked up, her eyes wide as the words repeated in her mind. Naruto hadn't called her that in a long time…

**Xx**

Once again stood Sasuke by the cave opening, the place he had just a few days abandoned thinking he would never return to again. The tunnel would take him to Orochimaru's hideout. It was without hesitation he stepped inside, determined to find Orochimaru and demand his return.

He walked through the darkness as there were no lights, leaving it only to his memory to lead the way. It was a way he had passed through many times as it was the only way out the tunnels. He knew Orochimaru had an entrance to himself in case there would be an ambush however it was kept secret to everyone but to the man alone and Kabuto.

It took hours walking through the tunnels before he eventually arrived in the quarters of Orochimaru's.

He devoted a quick thought to the lack of security, finding it weird that he had yet to come across someone when suddenly a familiar presence neared him. He turned around and came face to faces with Orochimaru's left hand, Kabuto.

"Well well, if it isn't Sasuke-kun that's back for a visit. I wonder what might have made him decide to come back when he so abruptly left us last time." It wasn't as much of a question as it was a statement as the man smirked, not even bothered to hide his satisfaction.

"Where's Orochimaru?" Sasuke responded, not interested to waste time on exchanging unnecessary words with the man.

"What makes you so sure we would even consider taking you back?" Kabuto scoffed superior. "You've left us twice now. What says you don't change your mind tomorrow and just leaves again? Leave now while I'm letting you. Or I might just kill you."

"Where is Orochimaru" Sasuke repeated unbothered by the death threat knowing he could take Kabuto down any time.

Aforementioned fell quiet and spent a moment to study Sasuke, looking for any sign of hesitation. Upon finding none he glared and told Sasuke to follow him. Kabuto led him to one of the chambers Orochimaru usually resided and invited him in.

"Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto spoke up as fast as they had entered "I found an intruder walking our halls. It seems Sasuke-kun changed his mind and decided to return to us. Again." The man didn't let slip the last part, putting extra effort in sharing his abhorrence.

Orochimaru turned from his seat to look upon the new comers, a smirk quickly growing on his face as he laid eyes on Sasuke. "How unexpected," He let out, his excitement showing in his gleaming eyes. "Sasuke-kun. How did it go with your brother?" The man questioned and felt delight upon Sasuke stiffened.

"I need power." Sasuke spoke through grit teeth. The man was obviously mocking him. "I need it and I want it now."

"My my, this is the third time I've heard that from you, what makes you think I have any more to give you?" Orochimaru said, reciting Kabuto's previous concerns.

"I have to make Danzo pay. All of Konoha should feel pain."

"And what happens when your lover stands in your way?" Orochimaru asked his eyes challenging.

Sasuke frowned. How did Orochimaru know about that? No one should know. "Anyone who dares stand in my way will feel my wrath." Sasuke responded, his face determined and eyes staring hard.

"You're talking about a whole village. Konoha is not something to take as a joke."

"You should know." Sasuke said mocking. "If you fight with me you get to have your revenge to."

Orochimaru let seconds pass in silence to forge consideration. Unknown by Sasuke, Orochimaru had already foreseen this moment. From the start Sasuke had played his part in his game. It was only with pleasure that he agreed to Sasuke's proposal. "I'll help you but this time I'll claim my prize."

"Prize?" Sasuke repeated adopting a guarding look.

"Nothing comes free in this world. I thought I already told you that Sasuke-kun." Orochimaru said and stood from his seat.

"What's your price?"

Orochimaru walked up to Sasuke and stroke his hand over Sasuke's cheek. "What I've always wanted from you…" Leaning forward he whispered in Sasuke's ear.

Listening to the words whispered in his ear Sasuke's eyes grew wide. "Wha-what?" He stammered horrified. "Why would you…"

Orochimaru took a step back, his lips twisted into a wicked grin. "This is what I want."

'Why would he want…?' Sasuke wondered, confused by the man's motives. There was no explanation to why he would want that. However, he knew he needed his help and thus Sasuke steeled himself and agreed to his demand. "If that's what you want."

**Xx**

Naruto was thankful Tsunade had entrusted him this mission alone. Being his current level other team members would have just slowed him down. Merely an hour had passed and he was already in the outskirts of Fire country.

Thinking he should take a small break to catch his breath he slowed down to a stop. He pulled out a bottle of water from his belt and took a refreshing sip. Even though he had spent most his time in the woods the air was stuffy and the weather hot thus more straining to dwell in.

According to the instructions from the scroll he was only a few miles from where the group had last sent their update report from. Naruto had concluded he would go to that spot and from there start his search.

Deciding his break was over he put the bottle away and kicked off. It didn't take long until the sweat started running as the rich tree tops allowed nothing but light breezes. He ran for a while until something caught his attention. Catching a familiar scent Naruto frowned. 'It smells of blood.' He jumped down on the ground and landed with a heavy thud.

He followed the scent and the further he walked the stronger it got. 'It should come from over there.' Naruto pondered and passed through a thick bush. As he came out on the other side he gasped, surprised by the sight that met his eye.

He ran up to the bloody bodies and quickly checked one of them to see if they were alive but the body was stone cold and the blood had already dried. He glanced at their headbands to see what village they belonged to and was once again shocked as he noticed they were from Konoha.

Taking a closer look on the other ninjas he saw a familiar face. 'That's Toshiko-san.' Naruto thought remembering the time they had worked together on a mission in snow country. 'This is the team I'm looking for.' He realized and took out a piece of paper from his pocket to scribble down a quick report then he summoned a small frog to carry the message back to Konoha.

Looking back on the bodies weird marks on the ground caught his attention. He crouched down to get a better look at them, confused by the strange pattern like markings. He touched one of them and smelled his fingers to see what they were drawn with. 'It's blood.' He quickly realized and dried his hand on his pants.

Confused by who or what it was that could have done it Naruto decided the best thing he could do was to bring one of the bodies back to Konoha for them to study. Choosing the body of Toshiko he picked it up and hauled it over his shoulders then he began his way back to Konoha.

In another place far away, hidden behind trees and long since forgotten by the world shadows moved in the tiny light of a candle desperately trying to fight off the consuming darkness. Low whispers echoed off the walls as the persons inside calmly discussed with one another the latest events.

"Kisame's reported back. Itachi died in the fight with Uchiha Sasuke." A female voice stated.

"As expected." A man answered without a single trace of grief.

"Kisame also made his own resignation. Maybe we should postpone the attack?"

The man raised a thin eyebrow objectively. "You question my plan that's not like you Konan."

"But we'll be missing two agents. It would be reckless to attack now."

"A bird told me otherwise."

"What are you talking about?"

"An old friend is going to help us. Knowing Sasuke's past he won't be satisfied with just Itachi, he'll want more and guess who's going to help him…"

"You don't mean..?"

"We have already set our plans in motion. We've waited long enough already. "

"So you want me to send them out?"

"…Yes." The man smirked. "Soon the world will know peace."

_END PART TWELVE Brewing War_

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Phew! I've spent all day out now on the balcony typing up this chapter. (The inspiration is great out here!)It took nine smokes but it was worth it! Well maybe... damn now I need a new package and have no money. Arrgh! See what I do for you guys! haha

until next time~


	14. BTrack

New update. Sweet

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**B-track part 01**

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Jiraiya stood in the Hokage's office, his back turned to Tsunade, deep in thought. He had just got back from one of his travels to rain country, word of Akatsuki's leader holding up in one of its small towns having led him there. The search had been quiet, almost too quiet and it had been hard to find out any real information as people refused to talk no matter what bribes he used. Not even the escort girls, who normally blabbed all sort of information, had been willing to talk and that left him with an unsettling feeling in the gut.

"What happens now then Jiraiya?" Tsunade's concerns broke through his train of thought and caused him to turn his head so he looked at her. "We have to decide what our next move will be. We can't just sit and wait. We both know the day will come when they come for the tailed beast and I'm not going to just hand them Naruto!"

Jiraiya played with his tongue between his teeth for a long while as he considered the woman's words well before giving the only answer he could come up with, "The thought crossed my mind before but I'm not sure it will work: I've been thinking of taking Naruto to Mount Myoboku and teach him Sage mode. It's not a solution but it might help us buy some time to find out more about what the Akatsuki's up to and why they're collecting the tailed beasts."

"How many do they have now?"

"We know they have the first to fifth tailed beast. However, the host to the six-tails is missing. We can only guess they have gotten him too."

"That makes only three left." Tsunade said, her voice stained by the concern she felt. She hadn't thought they would have so many already. The disappearance of the beasts and their hosts had only started half a year ago but they had already caught more than half of them. It scared her to know they had been caught so easily. The beasts were supposed to be strong but their strength appeared to be no match to the one of the Akatsuki. But then again, if the other members of the Akatsuki were anything like Uchiha Itachi it would mean their power was unimaginable and if it was, they were in deep trouble.

After a long silence Tsunade eventually spoke up, "We need to prepare Naruto. I know he's strong but I believe if he were to come across the Akatsuki today, he'd be no match for them and so I want you to take him with you Jiraiya. We have to use whatever sources we have. Naruto needs to prepare for the future. I will let the council know and deal with whatever complaints they may have but I'm sure they'll be happy about this. They've been bugging me a lot of late about Naruto and the Akatsuki."

Jiraiya cracked a small smile at the woman's frustrated pout that appeared as she mentioned the council. He knew the problems she had with them, the old crows always naïve enough to think they knew everything when in real they knew nothing. "Then it's settled. I'll take him to Mount Myoboku. We'll leave immediately."

"Jiraiya..." Tsunade said her eyebrows tensed into straight lines.

"Un." Jiraiya responded quirking an eyebrow inquiringly.

"Keep him safe" She said in an almost threatening way. Jiraiya only laughed as he took off through the giant window next to him. Tsunade was one of the toughest women he had ever got to know, but she also held the biggest heart.

**At Naruto's**, Jiraiya politely knocked on the door before letting himself in. Waiting patiently wasn't exactly his best of traits. He got surprised at the cleanliness of the place, as all other times when he had come to 'visit' the place had seemed more like a dump than an apartment. "Oi, Naruto." He called out knowing the blond was home as his shoes laid tossed net to the door. He found Naruto in his room reading a scroll and was once again surprised to see the boy doing something out of the norm. Usually, the blond was always so full of energy he had believed the boy to be incapable of relaxing.

"Eh, ero-sennin?" Naruto said his eyes slightly widened. He had been so concentrated on the scroll he hadn't noticed the other's presence until he had entered the room.

"I've told you to stop calling me that!" Jiraiya scolded and popped a vein at his temples.

"Eeh but you committed being one yourself." Naruto argued puckering his lips in a slight frown. He then stood from the bed so he towered slightly over the older man and put the scroll he'd been reading back to its rightful place.

Jiraiya scoffed and crossed his arms but chose not to comment. Naruto took the silence as a win and quickly asked, "Waddya need? Tsunade got a mission for me?"

"I'm not some kind of errand boy!" Jiraiya glared at him while shaking his fist, annoyed by Naruto's arrogance.

"I know. You're too busy peeping and getting caught all the time." Naruto cracked a smile and quickly ducked the clenched fist aimed at him.

"So not cute." Jiraiya muttered between gritted teeth and then continued much louder, "We're leaving!"

"To where?" Naruto asked somewhat curious but hid his anticipation well. He hadn't seen the man for a long time and so the thought of leaving together on another trip left him rather excited. Although he would never tell him himself, he had really missed the man as he was like the grandfather he had never had.

"Mount Myoboku."

"That… Where's Mount Myoboku?" Naruto asked as he couldn't remember ever hearing about such a place.

"That's for you to find out brat." Jiraiya grinned. "You don't need to pack anything this is not just a trip. We're going there to train."

"Train what, ero-sennin?" Naruto raised a thick brow, confused.

"You're gonna learn Sannin mode."

"Eh." Naruto's eyes widened. 'I'm going to do what?'

/End B-track part 01

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Incredibly short chapter, ne? Well there's a reason for that, and there will be two more. But hey, I think that might help shorten the interval between updates. As of now I'm very busy with my job, school preparations and writer's block so hopefully y'all won't hate me for taking such long time between updates. *hides in shame* I'm sorry alright? :gonk:

_Kurinka_, _Anonymous_ and _takuy_a; thank you for last time's reviews ^w^-


	15. BTrack 02

Yawn...

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B-Track part 02

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Naruto grit his teeth, frustrated the training was going nowhere. Whenever he tried to summon the nature chakra he'd start turning into a frog. They had been at it for hours, him, Jiraiya, and the Fukasaku. Moreover, he was starting developing a bump on his head from where they had to hit him to stop the transformation and it was giving him a horrible headache.

"Concentrate Naruto." Jiraiya said and broke his train of thought.

Naruto let out an animalistic growl and put his hand together and summoned the Nature.

**In Otogakure** Sasuke bit back a groan as he toppled over from Kabuto kicking him in the gut. His breath had been knocked out of him but he was quick to regain the control over it. He charged forward, Kusanagi in hand, and sent attack after attack, forcing Kabuto into the wall. Hearing a satisfying clash of metal slicing through meat, he jumped back, dried the blade off and put it back in its holster.

Kabuto quickly healed his injury, grabbed a kunai and jumped to attack Sasuke. Sasuke met his kunai with one himself and the weapons continued to clash as they moved over the training field. His blood was pumping, his eyes focused and his heart set. Soon, he would have his revenge! It felt so close he could almost taste it on the tip of his tongue…

**Two weeks later,** Naruto was still at it: training until his body couldn't take it anymore and would fall unconscious from overextending its human limits. He had finally learnt to summon nature chakra, even surpassed Jiraiya when it came to controlling it, managing to keep all his human looks. However, there was this slight little problem…

the small problem he couldn't fuse with kashira. And that was bad since

When summoning nature chakra, you need your deepest of concentration however that wasn't always possible if you were in a battle, so the only other way to enter Sage mode would be to fuse with the nidaisengama but having the Kyuubi sealed within him, the fox wouldn't let them in. Which in other words meant that Sage mode was completely useless.

"It's just like looking right while looking to the left." Kashira said

Naruto's eyes widened as the idea came to him. 'That's it!'

/End B-Track part 02

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Keywords:

Fukasaku - well it's the old frog's name.

Kashira - Head (chief)

Nidaisengama - Two Great Sage Toads

Well, I'm out!


	16. BTrack 03

And this is the last b-track, promise. Next chapter will be back to normal (and by that I mean a full length chapter). I know it took a long time for me to update but as of late I haven't felt very inspired :/ Anywho, I hope you'll like it. Please enjoy.

* * *

**B-Track part 03**

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke stood on top of the Hokage Mountain gazing down over the unknowing town, a strange feeling in his gut. He watched the familiar people as they crossed the streets of Konoha mindlessly doing their daily chores. From his point of view it was almost too pitiful to watch, the feigned sense of security that rested over the village. To them today was like any other uneventful day but little did they know the chaos that awaited them in the shadows.

His blood pumped through his veins from the thrill of knowing the guilty would soon get their punishment. A twitch in his hand had him reach for his sword, prepared to be given the signal to attack.

**Merely **a hundred yards away, inside the Hokage's office a door slammed open and a jounin came running in sporting a white paper in his hand of which he waved importantly in the air. "Reports from team Araiguma and Chou just came in. Both Sound and Akatsuki have been spotted on various locations near the village." The man barked slightly out of breath. "Earlier today team Kuma was reported missing but have now been reported dead by Team Juuni. We still await reports from team Karu."

The man laid the papers before the Hokage to see and was quickly ushered away. Tsunade scanned the papers and drew a long tired sigh. So it was true. Akatsuki and Orochimaru were on the move. She stood from her seat and from her window gazed with regret over the peaceful town. She had spent too long ignoring the warning signs that now she could only hope it would not come back and bite her in the ass.

Without spending another second to second-guess her decision, Tsunade barked out her orders concisely. "Shizune! I want immediate communication with the Kazekage! If Konoha wants a chance in this upcoming war we need all the help we can get.

Kyuuri! Revoke all teams from outside the village. We need every man we can get. Once you're done doing that I want you to gather up all Anbu and team leaders, tell them to stand put until further instructions!

It's time for Konoha to show its true strength…" She spent a short moment just gazing over the village, thinking, before turning around her posture suddenly tense and eyes narrowed. "We need Naruto back, now!"

/END B-Track part 03


End file.
